Techorse II: Captain Arbiter's Revenge
by Spirals95
Summary: Book 2 of my Techorse series. Captain Arbiter, nearly completely forgotten by Techorse and his friends, has returned with his new allies. After capturing several of Techorse's friends, he issues him a challenge: to turn himself in or see his friends come to harm. Can Techorse stop the rouge captain? A sequel to the original book and the first 12 shorts.
1. Part 1 Chapters 1 through 5

Techorse II: Captain Arbiter's revenge

By Spirals95

* * *

Prolouge

Equestria had made a good recovery from the attack the small team of humans had made on their world. Six months had passed since the terror had been defeated, and life had returned to normal. The cities had been rebuilt completely, and enough therapy had helped the citizens recover from any psychological turmoil from the attacks. With their space station vaporized, all traces of human presence had been wiped, with the exception of a gigantic factory, which was now overrun with ivy vines and trees as nature tried to reclaim the area. The smokestacks no longer belched their horrible pollution into the air, and the skies had cleared up over the factory. But as the structure continued to sit and produce nothing, a group of ponies was busy clearing machinery out of it. In particular, they were taking away the mining probes; large machines resembling the tunneling devices used to carve subways or underwater tunnels for cars. The raiders managed to find several still-active probes, hijacked them, and drove them away from the factory. No one really cared, with the property abandoned, there was no security to make sure nothing was ever taken out of the building. The three ominous digging machines, all the size of warships, simply drove off across the plains the factory was built on. When they reached the mountains, the drill bits on the front activated, and the worm-like robots cut tunnels into them and disappeared below the surface of the world. It was unclear what the plans for the massive drilling machines were, but if human technology falls into the wrong hooves, trouble is inevitable.

* * *

Chapter 1

"Come on Rainbow Dash, pitch the ball already!" called out Applejack as she stood next to home plate. A small group consisting of the two friends and eight other ponies were engaged in a variant of kickball. But Rainbow Dash was refusing to kick the ball towards home plate for some reason, perhaps to take advantage of Applejack's impatience. Rainbow squinted her rose-colored eyes and stared down at the country girl, who was looking very cross at the stalling. Applejack stomped a hoof on home plate, "We ain't getting any younger!"

Rainbow Dash picked up the red foam ball in front of her with a wing and quickly rolled it towards her friend. Applejack intercepted the ball and gave it a heavy front kick with her right leg. The foam ball arched up into the air and away from the ball field. The rules of the game stated that the Pegasus ponies had to stay on the ground, no flying was allowed, so it was unlikely the ball was going to be caught. Applejack had scored a home run, and she galloped around the bases, laughing in celebration of her victory. Rainbow stared in shock that Applejack had managed to kick the ball so far, she tended to underestimate the strength of earth ponies. "Well, that's 2-2" said Applejack as she crossed home again, "we need a tiebreaker next innin'"

"After we get the ball back." said Rainbow Dash, "it flew over there." Rainbow motioned towards the well-built stone castle behind them.

"Aw, did it go in Tech's castle?" said Applejack, "he's gonna be upset."

"Have the teams wait here, I'll deal with the crabby inventor." Sighed Rainbow as she flapped her wings gently and went to get the ball back. Techorse's castle was not too large or ominous, but it had plenty of spots on it where a foam ball could enter and get stuck. Rainbow Dash entered an open window on the castle skillfully, landing gently inside the structure.

"Hey Techorse, we lost our ball in here again!" shouted Rainbow.

Techorse heard her and replied gently, "Just find it, Rainbow."

Rainbow was a little happy Techorse wasn't upset about the issue, and kept searching for the kickball. She found it wedged into the top of the largest pipe on the castle's pipe organ. Rainbow Dash could have flown up and plucked the ball out of the instrument, but decided that was too much work, and searched the keyboard for the matching pipe. Having no musical talent, she simply guessed and whacked a large number of the keys on the organ. The sour chord sounded throughout the castle, and the ball flew out of the top of the tube. It bounced off the tile floor and out the window of the castle again. Rainbow Dash turned to leave and was about to jump out the window to fly away when a cold metal object touched her neck. Turning around, she saw Techorse had put a robotic hand on her. The colt was soaking wet, and his battle saddle was sparking from the water damage.

"I was watering a houseplant above my head when you hit that chord." He said through gritted teeth, trying not to yell.

Rainbow laughed sheepishly and replied, "Sorry about that, ball stuck deep in the pipes." Techorse sighed and let the robotic arm slide back into a panel on the side of his back-mounted invention. The panel closed with a metallic click, and the machine emitted a puff of smoke as a little more water entered it.

"After you leave, I'm closing these windows" said Techorse, "and then I want you to stay out of my sight, Rainbow."

He scooted her out the open window and watched as she flew away, then locked the paned windows and groaned in anger. A nearby computer monitor flickered on and the face of a robot popped up.

"That was a little rude." commented PAL, in central computer form. Techorse, water still dripping from his mane, looked at his robot and said to him, "This is the fifth time this week she's lost a kickball in the castle, and then destroyed something looking for it."

The computer suggested, "Maybe you should invent something to repel the kickballs and keep them from getting in here. You know, use that brain you used to build me."

"That idea is a waste of time." replied the pony, "I've been too tied up running my business to invent fun things like that."

PAL said nothing in response, only looking around the edges of the computer monitor to see if any icons caught his fancy.

"I think you ought to apologize anyways." said PAL, "she is one of your friends, and you did just mistreat her."

Techorse yelled, "WHAT? She keeps wrecking this place, and you want me to apologize because I call her out on it? How is that fair?"

"Well I'm only saying you were rude in calling her out on it, master. She was getting annoying, but that's no reason to blow up."

"You're going to blow up if you don't can it!" threatened the colt as he stormed off to go fix his saddle.

"Third threat on my existence this week." mused the computer, "The master's gone absolutely insane from this appliance business he runs. The money is simply not worth it, he should limit the number of orders allowed per month." PAL decided the best option, through a series of logical calculations, was to switch to his robot body and go into town to get away from his angry master. He thought that maybe he could apologize to Rainbow Dash on his creator's behalf.

The face on the computer monitor disappeared, and electrons flowed from it down the output cable, through the wiring, and into a robot body lying up against a wall on the other side of the castle. PAL opened his eyes and took in the information from the surrounding area, then straightened himself out and walked for the back door. Reaching the outside access, he grabbed the handle on the oak door and pulled it up like a manual garage opening. The machine walked out into the sunlight and had a quick look around the peaceful garden, then strolled off to go find his friends. He found the kickball teams moping around and doing absolutely nothing. Some of the ponies took notice of the robot and started to shy away a little, PAL's form made him about twice as big as them, and he was somewhat threatening. But the robot was programmed to be happy and gentle, and the machine introduced himself to the ponies he didn't recognize, "Hello, I am PAL, Personal Assistant and…"

"Aw knock it off PAL." said Applejack, "Are you here to finish yellin' at Rainbow Dash for him?"

PAL crossed his arms and said, "Not at all, I was getting tired of the master's attitude myself. I came here to play with you."

"We're not going to play anymore." stated Rainbow, "he's just going to yell at us again when we lose the ball over there."

PAL scanned the playing field and suggested, "What if we treat second base as home instead and play in that direction? There's no fence behind home, so we can still kick the ball in that direction without interference."

Applejack turned her head on looked at the field, then said cheerfully, "Hey, why didn't we think of that? What team do you want to be on, PAL?"

The robot picked up the red ball and said, "I'll pitch for both teams. My father was a pitching machine."

"Really?" asked Rainbow Dash as she looked up at the machine curiously.

"No not really." Replied PAL, "that's just one of my favorite self-deprecating jokes to tell."

"Come on you silly gadget, let's play!" giggled Applejack as she pushed the robot towards the pitcher's mound. PAL walked over to the mound as the ponies got into position to start the new game.

As the game recommenced, across town Twilight Sparkle was busy catching up on world events. It was a slow day at Ponyville's library, and so she had plenty of time to read the newspaper. Looking casually over the text, she searched for an interesting article to read.

"Coal purchases for power plants up 400%." She said to herself as she read the second page's main article. "Do we even need that much more electrical power?" her assistant, Spike the dragon, hopped down from a bookshelf and peered at the news.

"Not sure, Twi. Where does the coal come from anyways?"

Twilight explained, "Coal is a fossil fuel, it's made in the ground over millions of years from dead plants, trees specifically. It has to be dug up and then burned to make electrical power. Because we use so little electricity as a society, we just buy and burn all the available coal. But with this fourfold increase in coal, we're making way too much power."

"What's the worry?" asked Spike, "Four times the electricity means more hot water and other stuff, right?"

"Maybe, but it also means four times the pollution generated. Some unlucky pegasus pony has to clean that up and damage his wings. Not only that, but it can in large amounts change the environment permanently."

"That's insane." commented Spike in disbelief, "how could a little burnt coal change the planet like that?"

"According to Techorse, it happened to Earth." Answered Twilight, "and Earth had less of a natural balance than we do. The pollution will be much more devastating."

"I thought you said coal was clean last month, and now it's cursed." sighed Spike, putting up with Twilight's indecision.

"It does burn cleaner than oil, but we're burning four times the amount of coal that we need to! The power plants always purchase every last piece of coal available and burn them without thinking."

Spike asked, "So, what do we do about it?"

Twilight said, "We need to investigate. If things get out of hoof, I'll write the princess and let her know about the problem."

* * *

Chapter 2

A week passed by, giving the two plenty of time to research the effects of burning coal on the environment, and how much was actually needed to supply the cities of Equestria with enough electricity. Unfortunately, they simply lacked the statistics needed to continue in their project, they needed more information about where all the coal was coming from. Spike suggested they ask Techorse if they could borrow his castle's radar equipment to search for the source of the extra fossil fuels. Twilight agreed with him and they left that afternoon for the small castle on the edge of town. Arriving at the wooden doors, Twilight knocked gently with a hoof.

PAL answered the door gruffly, "We're not interested in a new sofa, thank you."

Spike said to the monitor, "It's us, PAL."

"Oh, it's Spike and Mistress Sparkle. Hold on, I'll open the door right away!" said PAL, changing his attitude quickly. The two halves of the door swung open slowly to grant access to the guests, and they walked inside the moment the doors provided enough space to enter. "He's in his laboratory working on something." said the robot, referring to Techorse.

"Thanks." Replied Twilight as she walked gently through the stone halls. She and Spike found the green-coated pony making adjustments to his favorite invention: the robotic saddle. Holding a tiny wrench with his teeth, he twisted one last screw into place before opening his mouth and dropping the wrench into a toolbox.

"Techorse." Called Twilight, "can we ask you for a favor?" He turned around and swished his tail, "Of course, Twilight. What can I do for you?"

Spike barged in, "We need to borrow your radar to see where all this extra coal stuff is coming from. Twilight says it's polluting the planet to death, but I don't see how."

"The radar isn't the best piece of equipment for geological study." Replied Techorse, "what you would want is a satellite to send pictures from space. I haven't gotten around to sending one up yet."

"We know." said Twilight, "your job keeps you working around the clock."

"Hey, I never thought my kitchen inventions would sell so well." He replied with a quadruped shrug, "All I did was make a produce peeler that could be operated easily with these hooves."

"Don't be so humble." teased Twilight, aware he knew it would become popular.

"Anyways" continued Techorse, "it's worth the income. I'm a pretty lucky pony."

"I've heard you're not so lucky." Said Twilight, "You've been working so hard you've become bitter towards others."

"Let me guess." sighed Techorse, "Applejack told you that."

"Yeah." Said Spike, "she sounded pretty mad about how you treated Rainbow Dash."

"Look, I'm sorry about that. I've just been so busy it's gotten me all upset." replied the inventor.

"Maybe you should declare a vacation and shut down your production for a bit." suggested Twilight.

"I just don't want to look lazy." replied Techorse, "It's not fair that I shouldn't work because I made a bundle off of these gadgets."

"But you're working yourself to death." protested Twilight, closing the distance between them, "you need a bit of rest before you go nuts."

"Alright." caved Techorse, "I'll declare two weeks of time off for myself and shut down production. If any pony out there needs one of my machines, they'll have to go to the store and buy it from them."

Techorse asked them to follow him as they descended down the stairs and into the production room, where a few pieces of large machinery were making and boxing the appliances. A flip of a switch brought the noisy machinery to a halt, and the factory room became eerily quiet. "With that settled, let's go see what we can do about that coal problem you were talking about." He suggested, motioning for them to go back up the stairs.

They walked into the instrument panel room of the castle on the top floor and stood in front of a 42 inch computer monitor. Techorse pushed a button with a hoof and watched as the picture on the screen started to form. The monitor displayed a large green ring with a sweeping green line coming out of the center. The line quickly traveled the length of the circle once, and a number of green objects showed up to represent the topography of the surrounding terrain. "This is what the radar is capable of showing, just the surrounding objects as these green blobs on the screen. If you're asking me where all the coal is coming from, I have no way of telling from this."

"Do you have a map of Equestria stored on the computer?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah.", he said after thinking for a bit. "Try combining the two and see if that helps." She ordered. Techorse hit a few keys, careful not to let his hooves smash a large number of them at once. The picture changed, showing the continent they were standing on, with the radar on top. The mountains on the map were soon covered by the matching green blobs that the radar picked them up as.

"Still no good." said Spike, "I can't see any coal mines anywheres."

"Well maybe if we..."

"Hi, watcha guys up too?" came a cheerful voice from behind. A pink pony jumped into the room and landed with a gentle bounce behind the friends.

"Hello Pinkie Pie." said Techorse "How did you get in my castle without me knowing this time?"

"PAL left the door open again." She answered with a giggle. Pinkie Pie stood up a bit on her hind legs and stared at the monitor with her cute blue eyes.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed, "What's with the pretty map? Playing a game?"

"We're looking for the source of all the extra coal being burned in the power plants." stated Twilight.

"Didn't hear about that." said Pinkie Pie.

"That's because you never read the news." explained Techorse in a nasty tone.

"Hey, I do too!" she said, "Just only when it involves party planning or baking!" Techorse shook his head and continued to focus on the monitor. Spike could tell Techorse was going to get angry, so he tried to draw Pinkie Pie away from him.

"Hey, Pinkie." He said to her, "Let's go back to your place and try that new recipe you've been talking about."

"Great idea!" she said, "bye-bye Twilight and mister grumpy pants!" Techorse snorted as they left the room, leaving him alone with Twilight.

"Man she's annoying." He commented as he hit another button the panel.

"See, there you go again." criticized Twilight, "you're being nasty to your closest friends!" Techorse sighed and kept staring at the monitor.

"I guess you're right." He said sadly, "I've just been so stressed out recently that I've completely forgotten my manners." The male exhaled sharply and finished, "I'll see if I can find anything else tonight. If things go well, we can locate the source of the extra coal and slow down the pollution."

Twilight told him, "Just try to relax. I'm sure after a few nights of rest you'll be a nicer colt again. See you tomorrow." She left the room and stopped only for a second to stare back at her frustrated coltfriend. Twilight felt somewhat sorry for him, she knew it was only his work that was making him act the way he did. She dropped the topic from her mind though as she headed for the front door.

* * *

Chapter 3

The next day was uneventful for the town. Work continued as normal, but nothing interesting happened to the citizens. The morning came and passed like it was absolutely nothing, and the early afternoon dragged on as the sun continued its path along the sky. As the shadows began to lengthen due to the afternoon coming to a close, dark figures approached the town stealthily. They used every rock, tree, and building to their advantage to move through Ponyville undetected. Not one resident noticed them due to their speed, but some could feel the eerie presence as the day started to come to a close. The shadowy characters made their rounds to a few key buildings in town, with plans to complete their mission without being seen. One resident of the town who did not have a care in the world about their presence was Rarity, who was busy going over her inventory at the end of the work day. As a master dressmaker, Rarity always made sure to check her supplies daily in order to avoid running out when a critical order came through. Thus, inside her well-decorated boutique, she carefully went through each door and closet.

"Let's see now, two bolts of red cloth, one of blue polyester." She counted as she sorted through the materials, checking for what she needed to order. Rarity's horn glowed a soothing white as she moved the cloth magically from the closet into her studio.

"Hmm, I'm out of forest green. I'll need to pick some up tomorrow." She said to herself as she found an empty metal tube. Last on her list was to open a vault she used to store the gemstones she sewed into nearly every dress she created. Rarity punched in the code and swung the metal door open. She counted the various gemstones out, and was satisfied in finding that she had a good balance of various stones. A weird draft came in the room as she finished looking over the gems, and the air flowed over her well-curled hair, making it flutter gently.

"Brr, did I leave a window open?" she asked herself with a shiver as she walked over to one of the store walls. To her intrigue, ever last window was closed, and so was the front door. Whatever had caused the draft of cold air had simply vanished into thin air. Rarity decided to brush off the event as a silly happening and started to pack up the cloths again. When she went back to her inventory, however, she noticed a square of plain white cotton material had been torn off neatly. "I didn't use any white cloth today!" she said, suspecting something, "a certain pony's playing a prank on me." Rarity believed that Pinkie Pie had snuck into her store to steal some cloth as a "harmless" joke. So, she picked up a magazine with her magic powers and rolled it into a playful club.

"_She's going to get a little bop on the head._" She thought to herself, hoping it would bring a few laughs when it all boiled over. Looking around the room for Pinkie Pie, Rarity spotted a very large bulge in a thick red curtain on one of her windows. She smiled and said, "Bingo." Rarity walked over to the curtain and prepared to brush it aside with her hoof and then bring the magazine down on Pinkie's head. She whisked away the velvet curtain and swung the magazine through thin air. Absolutely nothing was behind the curtain. Rarity frowned and looked back and forth; she still had a prankster loose in her shop. "Oh dear." She said sarcastically, "I sure hope Pinkie Pie doesn't prank me while I'm out here in the open!" Rarity readied the magazine again, ready to make it count when Pinkie would inevitably giggle and reveal her location. But no such thing happened, Rarity heard absolutely nothing. "Well, that's odd. I can't seem to find her." she said, "looks like she gets away again."

Suddenly, a black blur rushed in front of Rarity, and she shrieked in surprise. Rarity swung the magazine at the thing, but missed whatever it was. After that moment, the white section of missing cloth came down over her face. Rarity struggled to get it off, but something was holding her still, she couldn't break free. She took a breath in from the cloth and noticed it smelled very strange. The cloth had been soaked in something akin to chloroform. The unicorn pony collapsed on the ground unconscious as the chemical knocked her out cold. Something then dragged her limp body out of her store and away from the town, unnoticed by a single being.

About two hours after Rarity's disappearance, Ponyville began to get concerned. They found evidence of a breaking in and entering, but couldn't find the criminals responsible. It was simply assumed that Rarity had fled in fear of a burglar entering her home and shop, and that she would eventually return once she calmed down. Word of the robbery spread through the town like wildfire, despite nothing of actual value being taken from the store itself, this type of crime was rare. Ponies began to lock down their own stores in order to protect their places of work and their families. Fluttershy, who lived at the edge of town in her hollowed tree, also barricaded her windows to prevent anything from happening. As a pony afraid of anything, sometimes even her own shadow, she never took chances whenever potential danger was about. She pushed the last board over her door and stepped back a bit to admire her precautions. Her home was prepared more for a hurricane than a thief as boards covered the windows and held the door shut.

"There." She said, "Nobody's coming in here tonight." To calm her nerves, she walked over to her fireplace and started a small wood fire to boil a pot of water. A rabbit inside the home hopped over with a teabag and dropped it gently into the pot. "Thank you Angel." said Fluttershy to her pet. The tea began to brew and filled the sealed home with a strong aroma. "Oh that smells good." thought Fluttershy as she leaned into the large fireplace to get a whiff of the boiling tea. Something clamped onto her long pink hair, and Fluttershy screamed as the attacker pulled her up the chimney, nearly scalding her hind legs on the metal pot. The rabbit jumped to try to grab Fluttershy back, but the heat from the fireplace nearly scalded her, and he had to watch as Fluttershy was taken away in the one place she never expected an attack to come from.

Rainbow Dash was lazing off again from her duty in weather management. Despite it being her only job, she tended to not do it until the very last minute. As she sat on her mattress in her cloudhouse, she caught sight of a black blur out the window. "What is that?" she wondered as she observed the speeding object. "I gotta check this out." She said as she opened the window to get a better look. However, the blur disappeared underneath of her floating home. "Hey!" she shouted as she jumped out the window and inverted herself to fly underneath the house. Rainbow looked around, but saw nothing in the shadow cast by the floating structure. "That was a little freaky." She said. Calling out to the ponies walking around below her, she asked, "Did anybody else see that black line running around here?" She got a bunch of headshakes for an answer, the blur had only been seen by her.

"Blind." She said sadly as Rainbow flapped her wings and drifted back into her house. "Alright." She said, "I'll make dinner, then go and bring that rain we need today for the grass. Some of the lawns around here are looking pretty dried out." Rainbow walked into her kitchen and got out some fresh ingredients from her refrigerator. As she sorted out the grains and vegetables, she felt a presence behind her. Rainbow Dash grabbed a knife in her teeth and spun around quickly to face whatever was there. Except for the kitchen door, nothing was behind her; it was only a bit of paranoia. She dropped the knife on her counter and shook her head, letting her striped mane wave back and forth. An impact to her skull brought her thoughts and consciousness short, as a loud metallic clang put Rainbow Dash down. Her living but unresponsive body was removed from her house as quick as a flash, leaving behind only a ladle with a few strands of colored hair on it.

The town's panic had been brought to maximum level. With three disappearances in the hour, no one was taking any chance whatsoever. The mayor declared a state of emergency and ordered every citizen to arm themselves with something blunt and heavy. But word had not yet reached Twilight or Techorse, for no pony in town had bothered to make the now perilous trip through town to reach them. Twilight had kept the library open, unaware of the panic of the town. Spike watched as the residents outside dived into their stores and shut them down for the day.

"The stores are closing early." He said, "so much for getting that comic book I wanted today."

"There's always tomorrow." Said Twilight as she shelved returned books, "but it is a little odd they're shutting down this soon. It's only five o'clock." A loud knock on the door sounded as Twilight pushed a heavy dictionary onto a shelf.

"Will you get that, Spike?" asked Twilight as she grunted under the weight of the volume, "I'm still busy here."

"Sure." He said as he walked over to the red ornately-carved door. The dragon brushed the green fin on the top of his head into a neater position, and then opened the door. A brown male unicorn wearing a green and white baseball cap was standing there. On his back was an odd plastic square tray, on which rested a flat white box.

"Pizza delivery." said the guy, "for a Mrs. Sparkle."

Twilight might have wanted the food, but she had already put her paycheck in the bank and didn't have anything left in the house, so she said, "We didn't order a pizza."

"You sure?" he asked, "It's half sprouts and half rubies."

Spike loved gemstones and said, "Come on Twilight, that's our favorites!"

"I don't have any money to give him." said Twilight as she looked at Spike.

"Someone else already paid for this." explained the delivery guy, "I'll just set it on the table here for ya."

"Who?" asked Spike. He looked at Twilight and they both knew.

"Techorse." They said together as the unicorn used a magic burst to place the box on the counter in the middle of the room. He then left without a word, oddly not asking for a tip.

"Let's finish putting these books back before we eat." said Twilight, noticing Spike reaching for the pizza.

"Fine." replied Spike with dissapointment, drawing his hand away from the box. As they turned to work, a small metal pipe emerged from the box and started to quickly fill the room with grey smoke. It took the two a while to notice it because they were facing away from the box, but they soon saw it.

"What the?" exclaimed Spike as the smoke continued to fill the room. Twilight opened a window and brought out an oscillating fan to push the smoke out of the room. As they worked to clear the mess, several black blurs entered the door and whisked around the room. Twilight got scared and cast a spell to blast the pizza box out the door, ending the smoke problem. When the vapors finally left the building, Spike and Twilight found themselves surrounded by three Pegasus ponies wearing completely black tight fitting clothing. Only their eyes were visible through a rectangular box cut from the cloth.

"Ninjas!" shouted Spike, "I'll handle this!" Hoping to repeat what he had read in the previous issue of his comic books, Spike breathed fire on one of the ninjas. The green flames danced around the bad guy, but when he ran out of breath, Spike realized that he had done no damage. "Fireproof suits? Dang!" he shouted as the ninjas moved in closer on them. Twilight shot a bolt of destructive energy at one of them, but he raised a wing and deflected it into the ground. Then the three leapt to attack them at once. Twilight looked at Spike and knew that both of them would be killed if she didn't act fast. So in a moment of love for her lifelong apprentice, she used a pusher spell to kick the dragon out of the library as the ninjas fell on her. Twilight shut her eyes and felt a hard knock on her head before she fell unconscious.

* * *

Chapter 4

Spike had hit his head on the cobblestone streets of the town and had been knocked out, he was collected by the medical experts of Ponyville and put on a sick bed until he could wake up. Word of the disappearances of the heroes of the town put everyone in despair, if they were robbed themselves, they would have to defend themselves. The only one to not know yet of the disappearances was Techorse, who was still stuck in his castle working on the maps to look for the coal source. Pinkie Pie had decided to visit him again today and ask about where her friends might have gotten off to, so she bounced up cheerfully to the castle with a basket of cookies clenched in her teeth. She knocked on the door and waited for either him or PAL to answer. No response came, but the gates opened up anyways. Pinkie left the basket on a table immediately to the left of the castle entrance, and then walked while humming a cheerful tune to find him. She entered the radar room again and saw Techorse continuing to stare at the screen, but this time he was wearing his saddle.

"Have you been there all night and day?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"No." he replied without turning to look, "I've been taking breaks. Good to see you again Pinkie." She let her fluffy tail swish in the air as she prepared to ask Techorse her question, but PAL entered the room with a strange plastic bag. Inside the bag was a couple of interesting rainbow-colored rope shaped objects.

"Hello misses Pie." said PAL.

"Hey PAL!" she replied, turning to look in his direction without moving her head. She then spotted the bag in the robot's left hand and asked,

"What's in there?"

PAL removed one of the objects from the bag and said, "It's a new treat recipe I made! They're homemade gummy worms. Want one?"

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth wide and tilted her head back.

"Chirp!" she said, imitating a baby bird. PAL laughed and dropped the chromatic confection into her waiting maw. Pinkie closed her mouth and began to chew on the jumbo gummy worm, enjoying the unique multi-flavored taste of the treat.

"That's good." She said in ecstasy from the flavor of the worm.

Techorse said to Pinkie Pie, "I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday."

"M'ok." replied Pinkie, mouth full of gummy treat.

"Anyways, PAL and I couldn't find the source of that coal Twilight was talking about." He said as he looked back at the monitor. Pinkie Pie nodded thoughtfully and continued to chew, the ridiculous size of the worm made it impossible to swallow the treat quickly.

PAL said, "I'll go check the mail while you two talk, ok?"

"Go ahead." said Techorse. The robot left to go check the mailbox, making loud metallic footsteps as he walked out the open door of the control room. He went out front and found the plastic box, then opened it. Inside was a small brown package tied with a plain white string. PAL removed the rectangular object and turned it over in his hands, scanning it carefully with his optical sensors.

"Interesting, a package." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone. PAL shut the door on the mailbox and turned to go back inside when he was stopped by Applejack.

"PAL, wait up!" she said while short on breath, "Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity have all gone missin'. The town's in a panic!"

PAL said, "If that's true, misses Applejack, then we must inform master immediately. Follow me in." He took the orange pony upstairs and went back into the room.

Applejack spotted Pinkie and said, "Oh thank goodness, Pinkie's already here tellin' Techorse about it."

"About what?" asked Techorse as he turned to see Applejack, "nice seeing you by the way." Applejack walked up beside Techorse and said, "Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash have all fled their homes for some reason and haven't come back yet. Somethin' terrible must have happened!"

Applejack wanted to get in another sentence, but was getting annoyed by Pinkie's noisy chewing and asked, "Pinkie Pie, what are you eating?"

"A worm." She answered as she continued to masticate her snack.

"I've seen ya do some pretty disgusting things." said Applejack, "but eatin' a worm is new even for you!"

Pinkie Pie explained, "A gummy worm silly. Look." Pinkie opened her mouth to reveal the ball of rainbow-colored bolus.

Applejack recoiled in disgust, "Ok! Ya didn't need to show me."

Techorse stopped the distracting talk and asked, "What about the disappearances, Applejack? Tell me." She tipped her hat forward on her head and explained, "It seems some of our friends have gone missin' after that chain of breaking-ins. No one knows where they went."

"Maybe they just fled in panic." Said Techorse, "I'm sure they're all ok."

"By the way master, a package came for you today." Interrupted PAL. PAL handed the box to his master, and a pair of robotic arms came from the saddle on his back to accept it. Techorse took the string off the box and opened the top of it. Applejack gasped at the contents, and Pinkie Pie immediately swallowed the rest of the worm in shock. The box contained a lock of Twilight Sparkle's tail hair, recognizable by the pink and dark purple stripes on it. Techorse found a note underneath the lock and quickly picked it up to read it.

"Hello Techorse, it's your good old friend. It seems my followers have taken your love Twilight. She is being held captive in my castle at the following coordinates:" Techorse punched the numbers into his computer and watched the map change. Then he finished reading the note: "Do not send these coordinates to princess Celestia. I have unicorns scanning the air for traveling message particles, if they pick any up written by you, I will be forced to deal with your friends immediately. That being said, with the coordinates, you have three days to make it to my castle and turn yourself over. Because you were one of the aliens, I cannot simply allow you to live after what your kind did to ours six months ago. As insurance that you will arrive, I will not tell the location of your other lesser friends whom I have also kidnapped. They are locked up in different dungeons to prevent you from plotting the escape of all of them at once. Enclosed is a lock of Twilight's hair to prove I am not bluffing about any of this. Should you fail to show up at my castle in three days and turn yourself over, the next package I send you shall contain Twilight Sparkle's head. Make your decision, and I hope to see you very soon. Signed, Arbiter."

"I don't believe it." said Techorse, "Captain Arbiter's back."

"It looks like he wants revenge after you got him fired." commented Applejack.

"Well we can't just sit here and let him cut off Twilight's head!" shrieked Pinkie, "We have to do something!"

Techorse resigned himself and said plainly, "I'll turn myself in to him. He will keep his word and let you all go. I can't let any of my friends get hurt because of me."

"We're not letting him get you!" said Applejack strongly, "we're going to kick his tail and rescue them the old fashioned way."

"Thanks Applejack, but we don't know where the others are being kept. Unless I turn myself in, there's no way we'll be able to save them."

PAL added, "You have the coordinates of the main castle this Arbiter is staying in. There is a good chance the fortresses where the others are being kept is hidden somewhere between here and that castle."

"True." Said Techorse, "It's unlikely Arbiter would put the prison off in a location where it couldn't be defended very well."

"Then let's go now. We don't have any time to lose." declared Applejack.

PAL detected a knock at the front door and said, "Someone's at the front gate, I'll let them in." The robot walked out of the room and tossed the bag of gummy worms to Pinkie Pie.

"Before you stuff yourself and can't talk again, Pinkie, I need to know if you'll be able to help us on this mission." said Techorse as he swiped the bag away from her.

"Well duh." She replied, "I can't let that mean guy Arbiter keep them all locked up!"

"You know, that's just the oddest thing." said Applejack, "We weren't _all_ locked up. For some reason, he didn't capture me or you, Pinkie Pie."

Techorse said, "Arbiter didn't capture either of you because we're all earth ponies. With no special powers, he thinks you'll be too weak to do anything."

"That racist!" shouted Applejack angrily, "Wait till I get my hooves on him!" PAL returned to the room with Spike in tow. The dragon was wearing a bandage wrap on his head, evidence of the injury from last night.

"Twilight's been captured!" he shouted to Techorse.

"I know." He replied, "we just got a message saying so. In fact, everyone you see here are the only ones not captured."

"Who captured Twilight?" demanded Spike angrily, wanting revenge.

Techorse said, "Did she ever tell you about Captain Arbiter, Spike?"

"No" he replied. Techorse took a breath and explained, "Captain Arbiter was princess Celestia's captain of the guard after Twilight's brother left. He wanted to destroy me because, as you know, I was a human. When he got caught setting up a guillotine to kill me, he was fired and banished from Canterlot. Now he's captured the others and is holding them hostage, wanting me to exchange my life for theirs."

Pinkie Pie spat out the gummy worm she was chewing and rushed up to Spike. "Not only that!" she said loudly, "he's also got Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy!"

"Nobody touches Rarity." said Spike menacingly.

Applejack interrupted, "Alright, enough talk. Let's gear up and head out to Arbiter's castle."

"I'm going with you!" said Spike.

"It's too dangerous for you." said Applejack, "You have to stay here."

"That's not fair." Complained the young dragon, "I'm not a baby you know."

Techorse told him, "Twilight told me that in her absence, she wanted me to take care of you. Since she's been locked up, looks like that comes into effect. I give you permission to join our party, Spike!" Applejack stared angrily at Techorse, she had been overruled and wasn't happy about it.

Pinkie Pie shouted eagerly, "Yes! Everyone's going together!"

PAL laughed and said, "I guess I'll stay here to provide updates to you, master." "Ok, but remember PAL, if you need to get to us quickly…" "Yes I know, I'll be there to help." said PAL, waving a hand.

After a little bit of preparations for the adventure, the team of four set out to go liberate their friends from Arbiter's dungeons. Before they left the castle though, Techorse made sure the gadgets in his saddle were working properly. The laser cannons were going to be of use on this mission for sure, so he ensured the topaz crystals were changed out to give him the maximum number of shots possible. He also packed a few spare items into the cargo bin to take on the trip. After the diagnostics check, they walked in the direction of the land where Arbiter's castle was located according to his ransom note. So that they didn't get lost, Applejack had taken the note and kept it under her hat in order to keep a copy of the coordinates on hand.

"We're going to be headin' into territory unmarked on the map." said Applejack, "so it'll be very dangerous. I want y'all to be careful."

Spike got up on Techorse's back and seated himself on the robotic saddle, "With Techorse, nothing's gonna stop us! Any monster tries something funny, and bang!"

"Despite having weapons", he said sternly to Spike, "I prefer to use them as a last resort, Spike." Spike looked for a way to pry the weapons out of the machine and said, "How are we supposed to go through a wild area without dying if you don't even use your guns?"

"Simple." He explained, "Applejack's in charge. She knows how to get through these rough areas better than anyone else. With her as leader, we'll make it through without firing a shot."

Applejack stopped the group and turned around to face him.

"Hold on." She said, "I thought you were leadin' this rescue party."

"Yeah!" agreed Pinkie, "when Twilight's not around, you're always the leader."

"Just because I'm a guy doesn't mean I have to be the boss." replied Techorse.

"That's not what we mean." Said Applejack shaking her head, "I meant you're the best combat expert we got. Your strategies save our hides on a regular basis."

"Yes, but I'm also the least familiar with this planet. I've been here six months, you've been here your whole life. I need you to trust me and take command here Applejack, without you guiding me through this new area, I'd get us lost. And we only have three days to do this."

"Ok." said Applejack, "I'll lead. Just stay close, we have to follow this trail around the mountain. I know a place we can ask for directions." They went at a quick pace, stopping only for a drink of water or for a few breaths in order to make good time. After making it around the mountain bordering Ponyville, they came across a small forest of deciduous trees. "This forest over here is not home to a lot of creatures. If we just stick to the path, we won't find any trouble." instructed Applejack as she pointed to the small woods.

"We're tired!" complained Pinkie Pie, "this running's killing me!"

"Arbiter's gonna kill them if we don't hurry, and as much as I dislike Rarity's vanity, I don't wanna see her head come off! Now come on!"

As they walked amongst the trees and entered the peaceful forest, Spike asked Techorse worriedly, "He's going to get Rarity too?" Techorse drew his laser cannons and assured his friend, "Not if I can help it."

* * *

Chapter 5

The walk through the forest brought them to a small flat building on the other side. It was a plain structure with a shingle roof, a red brick chimney with several bricks missing, and a handful of plain glass windows. The faded white color of the place gave away the place's great age. "What is that place?" asked Pinkie Pie, "a small house?"

"That's a bar." replied Applejack, "The Victory Lap."

"Why would we go in a bar?" asked Pinkie Pie.

Applejack explained, "The place where Arbiter's castle is, is built in an area home to the roughest, toughest ponies around. If we ask the folks here, they'll probably tell us where the other fortresses are too."

"I'm too young to go in there." Said Spike nervously, not wanting to get roughed up in a bar fight, "I'll just wait outside."

"Alright." said Applejack, rolling her eyes at his cowardice. Spike dismounted from Techorse and hid inside a bush outside the bar.

"Don't mention to anypony who we are." warned Techorse, "Arbiter might still want you two despite not initially ordering your capture. We need to be careful."

"Okey dokey lokie!" said Pinkie Pie as she trotted inside the door of the saloon. Applejack and Techorse gave each other a look of hopelessness and entered the bar. Very tough looking characters were seated at the tables in the bar, playing card games, sipping their drinks, and having a good time.

Applejack whispered, "Things seem quiet now, but they can sure get violent quick. Ask and let's get out of here asap." Techorse nodded and made sure none of his gadgetry was sticking out of his saddle, as it would tell them who he was right away.

Pinkie hopped up to the bar and jumped up on one of the wooden stools. She spun around on the stool quickly and shouted, "Wheee!"

No one paid any attention to her as she looked at the ugly room. The wood supports of the roof were visible, and from them hung simple chandeliers made from wagon wheels. Very few pictures hung from the walls, and the ones that were had some kind of damage. A hoof grabbed Pinkie Pie on the head, and she stopped spinning around. The bartender took his leg off her hair. He was a tall and lanky pony with a grey coat, brown eyes, a thick yellow haircut, and a prominent yellow mustache. "What can I get you?"

he asked. Pinkie Pie thought and replied, "A strawberry milkshake!" The bartender gave her a confused look.

Pinkie realized she had to order something tough to fit in, so she added, "without any whipped cream!" The bartender rolled his eyes and retreated into the kitchen.

"I thought I was only guy who ever ordered that." Came a deep voice with a hint of Russian in it from beside Pinkie. She turned and saw the gigantic stallion sitting behind her. He was wearing a leather vest which went well with his black shirt. In physical appearance, the bar patron had a soft brown coat, a slick black mane, and deep yellow eyes.

He had his milkshake beside him, and he showed the glass to Pinkie Pie. "Who are you?" asked Pinkie.

"Mega." replied the stallion, "I'm biggest guy here."

"Nice to meet you!" said Pinkie happily.

"You're very nice." continued Mega, "Most ponies run from Mega. They say I'm mean and stupid. But Mega just doesn't know common language well. I was born in different country. It is nice to meet pony who's friendly out here."

"Oh come on, who wouldn't want to be your friend?" giggled Pinkie as she received her shake from the bartender.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Techorse were asking around the tables for any information about the fortresses where the others were being held hostage. Techorse sat down at a table in the middle of a card game and said, "Deal me in." He tossed a handful of gold coins onto the table, not caring if he lost the hand. To him, the information the three colts at the table had would be worth the 15 bucks he added to the pot.

One of the ponies sitting there said to him in a bootlegger's accent, "That's a pretty decent bet there, fella. Got lucky at the races today?"

"No." replied Techorse as he picked up his cards with his hooves, "but I hope my luck changes when I go to work for Arbiter. You gents seen him lately?"

"Arbiter doesn't have any new job offerins'." said one of the ponies, "all the guard positions went like that." The gambler knocked his hoof on the table once.

"Guard positions huh?" said Techorse curiously, "where?"

"The new bastille down the way, about four miles in the direction of the river." said the third gambling pony. After drawing a couple of cards each, they all laid down their hands.

"Dang, the new guy wins." declared the leader of the three. Techorse had no clue how he had won, the game was so different from Earth poker it was impossible to tell the objectives.

He swept the golden coins in with a leg towards himself and said, "Maybe I can get all you guys a round on me." He passed the money to a staff member and got a bit of cheering from the others for his generosity. Techorse whispered to the staff member, "I'm trying to get some information from these guys, so nothing for me thank you."

While Techorse was trying to get information by waiting for the salt licks and sugary drinks to work it out of the patrons, Applejack used her charm. Normally she would look like a working girl without much physical appeal, but she had taken off her hat and untied her hair. She looked a little more attractive this way to the bar patrons, but tried not to frown as she saw the number of boys staring at her body. Applejack only wanted information and was not flattered at all by the attention she was getting.

"Look at the hocks on her." said one of the males quietly to his friend.

Another said, "Over here sweet thing!" She ignored the catcalls being thrown at her and walked over to the most intelligent looking pony at the bar. He was reading a magazine and enjoying a small drink of something.

Applejack put her front leg gently on the table and said, "Excuse me mister, but woulda mind talkin' to a girl for a moment?" The cream-coated pony looked up at Applejack and realized he was being given attention by a woman.

"I'm pretty busy." He said, playing hard to get.

Applejack hated to do what she was going to do next. She had seen Rarity do this to get attention before, and if it worked for Rarity, it would have to work for her. Applejack tilted her head a bit, moved a little closer to the stallion and batted her eyelashes gently at him.

"Please? It's awful important." she said sweetly.

The guy looked into Applejack's beautiful green eyes and asked, "What do you need to know?"

"I'm looking for a fortress." She started to rub the guy's front leg muscles and replied, "A big strong one."

"Take your pick lady." Replied the stallion, "There's tons out here."

"Well, the one I'm lookin' for is owned by this crazy guy with an eyepatch." said Applejack.

The stallion said suspiciously, "One of Arbiter's prisons? Why do you need to know where that is?" She pulled her front leg back and let it hit the floor with a soft clop.

"I'm supposed to take supplies there." She said, "I can see you're a big, handsome, smart pony who would know where it is."

The stallion finally caved into Applejack's charm and told her, "Why don't you come out back with me and I'll tell you where the fortress is?"

Applejack grimaced nervously and said, "Why can't you tell me in here?" The stallion wrapped a limb around her and drew her close. She wasn't going to like his answer.

Techorse had gotten all the information he was going to get out of the intoxicated bar buddies. They were either drunk from something or dehydrated from salt lick, so Techorse decided it was time to round up his friends and leave. As he got up from the table, he heard a horn start to charge for a ic pellet to shoot at him. It was a grey coated colt with a brown mane and hazel eyes, wearing only an orange vest around his middle. He had Techorse within his sights, and was not afraid to let a beam loose in the middle of the bar.

"Going somewhere, Techorse?" asked the pony.

"Well, Coaltorch, as a matter of fact, I was just about to leave your watering hole." He replied as he backed up away from the knife. It was too bad his new friends were horribly dehydrated from all the salt he had bought them, or they could have helped him out.

"Arbiter says you have two days to get to him before your marefriend's head comes off." continued Coaltorch.

"Oh so yesterday counted, huh?" said Techorse smugly.

"Now." continued Coaltorch gently as he made Techorse sit down at a booth with him, "I've got an offer to make you. Arbiter may want you in two days, but he offered a reward to anypony who dragged you in early. I'm going to collect on that if I can, but it has to be a live delivery, you see." Techorse wanted to defend himself, but knew using his cannons would start a terrible brawl amongst the barflies, and that would be the worst case scenario.

"I know you're a wealthy colt, and I don't want to hurt you." Continued Coaltorch slyly, "So just give me the extra 2500 bits in a neat little check, and I'll let you go. In fact, I won't even tell a soul about our meeting here."

Pinkie Pie turned on her stool and noticed Coaltorch aiming at Techorse's neck. She gasped loudly, nearly drawing the attention of Coaltorch and the others in the bar, but she only managed to get Mega to spin around and look too.

"Who is that?" he asked. "My friend Techorse is in danger, that guy's gonna hurt him!" whispered Pinkie desperately to her new giant friend. Mega got up from his stool and wandered over to the two.

Coaltorch spoke again to Techorse, "Well buddy, what'll it be? Give me the money, come with me, or get blasted in the face?" Techorse saw Mega walk up behind Coaltorch, but tried not to let his eyes wander to avoid giving him away. Coaltorch pushed his horn a little closer to Techorse's neck.

"Choose!" he demanded.

Mega reared up and brought both hooves down on Coaltorch's head, crashing him through the table and leaving him with a concussion. The stallion in the booth behind them let go of Applejack as she jumped away from him to see what had happened.

"Who was that?" she asked, staring at the now unconcious Coaltorch.

"It's the guy who attacked that club we went to a while back. Remember?" said Techorse, referencing an earlier event that year.

"Oh yeah." said Applejack, "he was tryin to get ya?"

Pinkie Pie dashed up to them and shouted, "Of course, Techorse is always fighting off bad guys!"

"Wait a minute." Said one of the bar patrons, "that's Techorse?"

"Well no duh." Said Pinkie sarcastically, "who did you think he was?" Immediately, the other patrons tried to collect the reward on Techorse's head and approached him as a mob. Techorse drew his laser cannons and prepared to defend himself. But the mob was stopped in their tracks when Mega stepped in front of them and picked up a chair, threatening to use it as a club.

"Nobody hurts friends of Pinkie Pie." Shouted Mega angrily, "All you guys treat Mega poorly and call me stupid. But she was nice to me. If Techorse friend of Pinkie, he friend of mine too!" Mega turned his head back and said to them, "Go!" The three ran out of the bar as quick as they could, and heard loud crashing as Mega smashed the chair to pieces on the floor of the bar.


	2. Part 2 Chapters 6 through 8

Techorse II: Captain Arbiter's Revenge

By Spirals95

* * *

Chapter 6

After picking up Spike and getting a good distance from the bar, the friends rested at the base of an oak tree to put together their plan. Applejack finished tying her hair back up and said, "Ok, what did we get out of those guys?"

Techorse answered, "There's a river nearby. If we follow it upstream for a few miles, we'll find one of the fortresses. The gamblers told me it was well-staffed, meaning we're up against plenty of guards. I'm not sure who they're keeping there, but chances are at least one of them is being held captive inside that fortress."

Techorse stopped to breathe and asked lightly, "So what did _you_ find out?"

She replied, "I heard from that guy I was sitting with that there's a tower containing a single unicorn prisoner. He didn't tell me much more before he… _made his move_ on me." Applejack shuddered as she looked at the ground.

Spike pounded his right fist into his hand and said angrily, "That tower must be where Rarity's been locked up!"

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down impatiently, "Let's choose a jail and get going! We can save somepony today if we hurry!"

"Since we don't know where the tower is, let's go for that fortress first!" suggested Spike.

"Good idea." Replied Techorse, letting the dragon climb onto his back. As they galloped towards the location of the river, Techorse made sure Spike could hear him say, "Once we get there, if we get into battle and you want to use your fire breath while mounted, go ahead. I've always wanted a flamethrower."

"Whatever." replied Spike, not really appreciating the joke.

The river was not too far away, so they stopped at the bank and looked down the wandering body of water to see if they could locate the fortress described by the gamblers. While at some point the river must have been clean and inviting, it was now extremely dirty and unsanitary to drink. "The fortress must be located upriver from here." said Techorse.

"How do you know that?" asked Spike. He explained his answer, "The water is polluted from something, probably sewage from upstream." Pinkie Pie was about to dive into the river for a fun swim, but as soon as she heard the word "sewage", she stuck her tongue out and backed off from the bank.

"Ew." She said, "Doesn't Arbiter know not to build toilets over rivers? It scares away all the fish and makes the water all icky."

"I think he could care less about the environment." said Techorse, "That being said, I'm starting to wonder if he's also behind the recent coal production surge."

"We can talk about rocks and toilets after we rescue our friends." urged Spike.

"Alright, let's keep moving then." sighed Applejack. The team turned north and walked along the banks of the adulterated river, looking sadly at the condition the fortress's sewer system had put the work of nature in. Following the winding water north brought them to the fortress at last. The structure was surrounded a small grove of trees, but was tall enough to avoid being completely hidden by them. All in all, it was roughly the size of a football stadium, a decent size for a newly built prison house. It was shaped like one large castle turret, featuring only a few barred windows against the white painted stone. On one side of the building were two large gears, which turned occasionally to open the drawbridge over the moat and let a guard in or out. And as they feared, the moat was connected to the river and contaminated it with sewage from the latrine holes cut in the sides of the building.

The team hid behind some of the trees to discuss how to get inside. "Let's make a plan." said Applejack quietly. Techorse nodded and let the turbofans that let him fly slide out of his saddle. "I'll fly over to those gears and mess with them. Once the front gate is down, get in there. I will try to meet up with you later."

Spike pointed to the two guards standing in front of the moat and asked, "How are we going to get by them? They look tough!" Pinkie Pie was already making a run for the front gate.

"No!" called Applejack, but it was far too late.

Techorse lifted into the air and said, "Let her go, it will distract them and buy me time so I can get the door for you. Just make sure Pinkie doesn't get hurt." Applejack nodded and turned to Spike.

He crossed his arms and said, "She's going to get captured, isn't she?"

"Yup." replied Applejack. Pinkie jumped in front of the guards, who immediately gave her a strange look.

"Hi boys!" she said happily, "how's the night shift going?"

"Who are you?" asked the first guard, "and how did you find this fortress?"

Pinkie said, "I followed the river up here, I wanted to swim in it, but it was too dirty!" The guards looked at each other and didn't really know what to do, she wasn't really any threat, but shouldn't be at the jail either.

The second guard looked back at Pinkie and said, "Uh, maybe you should just go back. There's really nothing to see here." Pinkie Pie tried to raise her head above the guards.

"What don't you want me to see? What don't you want me to see?" she kept asking over and over in a squeaky voice.

Techorse made it to the two gears and landed gently on top of the second one. Working carefully, he switched to his robotic arms and started moving the first gear slowly to the right. As it twisted, he had to step gently to the left to avoid falling off into the moat.

"Look, m'am. Go away!" demanded the first guard.

"But why!" whined Pinkie, "I just wanna see your castle! It looks like fun!"

"No one's allowed inside!" insisted the second guard, "especially not annoying folks like you." Pinkie Pie let tears well up in her eyes.

"Annoying?" she sniffed.

A split second of silence went by before she closed her eyes tightly and screamed, "WAAAAAHH!" Pinkie let streams of tears fly everywhere as she threw her tantrum.

"Great, you made her bawl you moron." said the first guard as he smacked his imbecile coworker on the chin.

"I don't hardly believe this." Commented Applejack as she and Spike watched the scene from behind the tree. "Pinkie Pie is actually holdin' them off."

"Alright!" shouted the first guard in frustration, "If it makes you stop crying, we'll show you the main lobby. But you can't visit the prisoners."

"Yay!" cheered Pinkie, stopping her crying immediately. The guards threw a lever and the drawbridge began to descend. But Techorse was still on top of the first gear, and he was drawn towards the meshing of the two. Luckily, a quick jump in the air followed by a midair switch to his fans brought him safely to the ground and out of harm's way.

Techorse waved on Applejack and Spike, and they followed him quietly across the drawbridge, making sure the guards couldn't hear or see them. When they got inside, the drawbridge began to rise slowly again behind them. Applejack snuck up behind the first guard, ready to take him out. She turned around and bucked him in the back of the neck, sending him skidding across the floor into a garbage bin. Spike spat a fireball at the second guard and lit his tail. He panicked and ran around the room before finally jumping out a window and into the moat to extinguish the flame.

"Ok, that takes care of those two." said Techorse, "good shooting Spike."

"Thanks" he replied, letting a wisp of smoke escape from his left nostril. Pinkie Pie turned around and said, "Hey, you guys made it! Looks like my plan worked."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that was an elaborate plan to get us inside the fortress?" asked Techorse, "I thought it was just a distraction effort!"

Pinkie said, "No silly! That was my plan, and it worked! What, do you think I'm stupid?"

Techorse looked to the side and said, "Not stupid, just a little too wacky to come up with a great plan like that." Pinkie Pie giggled and took a playful swat at him, which he ducked.

"We're wastin' time." warned Applejack, "We need to find our friends and get out of here before more guards come."

"Let's fan out and try to find them." ordered Techorse, "If we split up, we'll search faster."

"No that's a mistake!" said Spike, "we're all easy targets alone." The green pony swung his tail downwards in frustration, he hated being told his battle plans were a mistake.

"We split up." He said sternly. Applejack put a hoof in front of his face.

"Yoo hoo." She said, "We got friends to rescue. We stick together."

"Oh come on, don't take his side!" said Techorse with great frustration.

"You put me in charge mister, so you follow my orders." Said Applejack proudly, patting Spike on the head.

Techorse hung his head and let his ears droop. "Dang, she's right."

The lobby of the prison building contained very little, just a few torches for light and two staircases leading to separate halves of the cells. Pinkie Pie let an ear perk up as she heard the footsteps of soldiers.

"Take the right one!" she shouted, "they're gonna come through the left!" The team rushed up the right side staircase and up onto a wooden platform suspended over a massive portcullis-like structure below.

"Is that to prevent escape?" asked Spike as he pointed to the mesh. "I think so. Nothing could get out of that cage." replied Applejack. Techorse noticed that the portcullis grid above the cells was almost like a birdcage in appearance. He had a feeling as to which of his friends were trapped here.

"How are we going to get down there without jumping?" asked Pinkie as she looked around for a way down. Spike found a small wooden lever on the platform and pulled it. The platform started to slide down on a set of cables it was hanging from.

"Good thinking Spike." said Techorse, using a robotic hand to punch him gently on the shoulder. The platform made its way down the cable at a 45 degree angle. Below, a section of the cage opened up, and the platform sunk below the portcullis. As soon as they were past the aperture, it closed again to prevent escape. When the platform touched the stone floor, the friends disembarked and began searching the cells together.

"We have to hurry before the patrols return!" shouted Applejack.

"Right." Replied Spike, "Techorse, check the cells on that side of the room." The dragon pointed to the other set of cells.

"You got it." Replied Techorse as he galloped off to the other side of the massive rooms.

Confusion swept them as not a single cell contained any of their friends. "I don't get it!" said Pinkie, "are they hiding in there?"

"Rainbow Dash!" called Spike, "Fluttershy, where are you guys?" Techorse opened up his saddle and two small conic lights emerged, illuminating the last cell. The room was empty. He shut the small lights off and shook his head sadly.

"They're not in any of these cells. Something's wrong here."

"I'll say something's wrong here!" shouted a voice from above.

Looking up, the friends saw a new pony who had come out of nowhere. The unicorn opened a gate on the cage structure over the cells and jumped through, where he landed with a loud thud on the cold stones of the dungeon floor.

He looked up at Spike and said, "I've got uninvited guests in my prison.

Spike recognized the unicorn and pointed at him, "Hey, you're the delivery guy!"

"It was a disguise you dope." Replied the unicorn slyly, "and a poor one at that. I'm surprised you and that stupid librarian of yours fell for that." To Applejack's surprise, Techorse did not immediately riddle the unicorn's body with laser bolts for his insult.

"And who might you be?" asked Applejack.

He replied, "I am Sentry, the jailer."

"You work for Arbiter, don't you?" asked Pinkie suspiciously.

"No dip." replied Sentry in a mean tone, "Man, with that comment, I find it amazing that you know how to breathe on your own."

Techorse shouted at him, "That's enough trash talk. After all, you're the moron who let himself get surrounded. There's 4 of us and only 1 of you." Techorse let his laser cannons sprout with a metallic whir and trained them on Sentry.

Sentry pushed a specially marked stone on the floor and jumped in the air to avoid the attacks of the four. Techorse blasted away with his lasers, missing Sentry left and right as he moved quickly around the room.

"Man he's fast!" commented Spike as he prepared to breath flame at the bad guy. Techorse stopped firing to allow a chance for the others to strike without getting them caught in the crossfire. Applejack charged at the enemy and lowered her head for a brutal charging attack. Sentry saw this and fired a bolt of energy from his horn. The projectile struck Applejack's head and sent her into a cartwheel which halted her charge. Spike jumped over Applejack's tangled body and spat a rope of green flames all around Sentry. In response, the unicorn pony rolled to the right and quickly used a magic spell to toss a brick at Spike. The brick impacted Spike on his body, and although his tough scales protected him, the force of the blow knocked the wind out of him and stopped him from breathing any more fire. Pinkie Pie took three skips and bounced high into the air, nearly knocking her head on the portcullis before coming down on Sentry's back. She pushed him to the ground, and then kept bouncing up and down on him like a trampoline to inflict as much damage as possible.

Techorse cheered, "You got him, Pinkie! Keep it up." Sentry spoke between getting hopped on, "You... haven't... won... yet…" Pinkie Pie stopped jumping and pinned the colt to the ground as Techorse walked up to question him.

The laser cannons came back out of the saddle, and pitched down at Sentry's head. "Where are our friends?"

Suddenly, a dozen guards arrived in the room and surrounded them. One of the guards was soaking wet, obviously the one who jumped in the river, and angrily grabbed Pinkie Pie, dragging her kicking and screaming off of Sentry. "Excellent timing troops. Looks like the alarm stone I pushed worked" replied the jailer. Techorse gave the guards a dirty look as he powered down his guns and stowed them again.

"What should we do with them?" asked one of the guards. One of them cruelly suggested, "We could throw them out the windows on the top floor."

"Too messy." replied Sentry, "Just toss them in with the others in the double cell. But first take that weapon off the green one, it nearly fried me!"

The team was taken away up a secret staircase, to the double cell Sentry had mentioned. Once there at the entrance, a small steel grate door with heavy lead locks, Techorse's saddle was removed from him and dropped at the foot of the door. The guards shoved them all inside and closed the door gently, if they slammed it, the locks could have been damaged. A loud click locked the cell doors and sealed them inside. Applejack got a good look around the jail cell. For being part of a prison, it was very well stocked. There were multiple cots, a sink, and a small bathroom. If intimidation and horror was the goal of the cell designer, he had failed his task miserably. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were sleeping on the beds, but woke up as soon as they heard the locking of the door.

"Hey!" said Rainbow as she jumped off her cot, "you made it!"

Fluttershy said softly, "Oh, you're finally here to rescue us. I was getting worried that you'd never show up."

"I couldn't leave you here." Techorse told her, "I have my duties."

"So, did you beat up all the guards and cut us an escape route?" asked Rainbow, sure Techorse had woven a master plan.

"Actually, we just got our sorry behinds captured." Admitted Applejack, "but we're glad you're ok and well taken care of."

Spike walked deeper into the room and said, "Yeah, it's like Arbiter doesn't want you to rot or something. He just wants to keep you here."

"This place isn't creepy at all!" said Pinkie Pie, "I could live here if it wasn't called a jail."

Techorse asked, "Have they tried starving you?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, "We still get plates of grain every couple hours. They're not trying anything to torture us. Fluttershy's plate of food even had a piece of fruit on it."

"Strange." said Spike.

"Not to me." said Techorse, "Arbiter doesn't really want you to suffer, just me. Normally he's a decent guy, so it only makes sense he'd order his minions to treat you somewhat nicely."

"I still want to get out of here." assured Fluttershy, "it's still a little sad being locked up."

"Imagine how Rarity feels." Mumbled Applejack, certain she was complaining the guards in the other fortress to death.

"How are we going to escape?" asked Rainbow Dash, "they took off your saddle."

Techorse looked back at the door and said, "But the guards left it a little too close to the door. I'll have it down in a minute." He walked over to the metal gate and lied down on the cold tile floor of the cell. Making sure his head was as close to the saddle as possible, he issued the mental command to activate the lasers. The guns emerged from the gadget and tilted upwards towards the locks. A few more thoughts activated the steel tubes, and the beams cut right through the lock. Techorse then got back up and casually pushed the door open. "Let's go before Sentry comes back." He said.

They rushed out of the cell and looked around for a way out of the building.

"Rainbow Dash, take Fluttershy and fly out a window." ordered Applejack.

"We can't leave you guys in here." Replied Rainbow Dash, "we stick together and make sure no one gets left behind."

"Fine, but be careful!" she replied.

Techorse found a different staircase headed to another section of the fortress. "Let's go this way." He suggested, "If we go back the way we came, we'll get caught again."

The team moved for the staircase and descended quickly, trying not to make a lot of noise. As they reached the base, they came out into this open area, a platform made of concrete surrounded by very deep chasms.

"Wow, a walkway over a bottomless pit." said Pinkie Pie as she peered over the edge, "how cliché!"

"The walkway's large enough that we shouldn't fall." said Rainbow Dash, "besides, I can just fly down and grab you."

"We have to keep moving!" shouted Techorse, already galloping across the concrete for the rear exit of the prison. The team was stopped as wooden elevators rose from the chasms, on each platform, a dozen guards rushed into the middle to stop them.

"Ambush!" said Spike as he looked around, "that Sentry guy's smarter than we thought!"

"Of course I am you stupid dragon." said Sentry as he entered the room from behind them.

"Let us go. It's not worth keeping us here." said Fluttershy to the jailer.

"You'd think so, being the harmless girls you are." said Sentry, "but my leader's orders are to keep you and Rainbow Dash here, misses Fluttershy. I don't make the rules you see, I just follow them."

The guards snatched them again, and Techorse grunted as he reluctantly surrendered. He just couldn't bring himself to gun down the guards, who were pretty much innocent in his mind because they were only obeying their orders too.

"It doesn't have to be this way Sentry! We've outsmarted your defenses twice now, and we'll do it again." he said. "You won't get the chance." replied Sentry as he got close to Techorse, "I know Arbiter wants to see you personally, Mr. Techorse. So I plan on bolting you up in a special containment unit that will prevent you from using that gadget of yours to escape again."

One of the guards brought out special wooden cuffs and clamped them around Fluttershy's front legs. She screamed loudly, piercing the guard's ears and filling the outside of the fortress with the shrieking sound. A mighty dragon, busy foraging for gems to add to his horde, heard the screams coming from the fortress behind him.

"That screaming sounds familiar." He thought as he turned and spotted the jail. Sentry stuffed a ball of cloth into Fluttershy's mouth to gag her.

"Oh stop it." He said, "You're going back to your cells now."

Rainbow Dash lifted up in the air to avoid getting nabbed by the guards, but one threw a rope around her hind legs and brought her crashing down.

"This one keeps trying to fly away, shall we clip her wings sir?" asked the guard as he held onto Rainbow.

"No." replied Sentry," we need to keep the prisoners in good condition."

Spike said to Sentry with a tough voice, "You think you've beaten us?" Sentry turned to Spike and punched him in the head.

"I think I have, moron." He replied. Spike got up off the ground and shouted at him, "You'll regret that!"

"Oh please." Replied Sentry, "what's one little dragon going to do?" In an act of irony, the 30 foot dragon standing outside burst through the walls of the prison, knocking large stone bricks all over the crowd. One of the bricks broke the cuffs on Fluttershy's legs, and in response she spat out the gag. All the guards panicked and scattered as the stones crashed down, leaving Sentry to face the beast alone. The golden, monstrous reptile roared and breathed flame to chase away the remaining minions out of the building. The heroes bunched together and stepped back from the middle of the platform as they watched the violence. Sentry panicked as the dragon looked directly at him, and fired a bolt from his horn, impacting the gold dragon on the right wing. He screamed in a bit of pain, but then extended his neck and made a lunge at Sentry. The pony ran from the dragon, but the beast kept snapping its jaws at him from behind.

Sentry continued to flee down the large concrete platform; the dragon had smashed his way through part of it and lunged one more time, attempting to catch him. This time, the pony was scooped up in its maw, and he screamed loudly in mortal terror. Unfortunately for him, his sudden movements caused him to fly back a little too far, and he was lodged in the dragon's throat. The monster reared back and started choking, sitting back down at the edge of the platform. Sentry might have saved himself, but his struggling kicked in the muscular reflexes of the dragon, and it swallowed him. Fluttershy watched in horror when the lump in the dragon's throat dropped before hearing a sickening squish as the pony entered the beast's stomach. Most of the team winced, that was not a very pleasant way to go.

"Shoot, I think I swallowed him." said the dragon as he grabbed at his throat. Rainbow Dash recognized the dragon's voice.

"Yorgle?" she asked, "Is that you?"

"In the scales." He replied.

Pinkie Pie's mouth was hanging open in horror, "Yorgle, how could you? I thought you were a nice dragon, but you just ate that guy like he was a cookie!"

"I didn't mean too, honest. The simpleton rammed himself down my throat!" explained Yorgle.

Techorse asked, "Never mind that, what are you doing here?"

"Well I heard Fluttershy there screaming her lungs out, and I decided to check it out." continued the dragon in his deep voice. "When I looked in here and saw you in trouble, I knew I had to do something."

Spike couldn't contain his excitement any longer.

"Wow!" he said, "finally, another dragon on our side!" Yorgle brought his head down to Spike's level and asked him, "And who are you? Haven't seen you before."

"I'm Spike." He replied, "Nice to meet you, Yorgle." "Ah, you must be the dragon owned by the purple-coated one that accompanied you that day you broke into my cave." Said Yorgle, "I was hoping she would have let you visit my home so we could meet, but this is just as good I guess."

Techorse explained to the dragon, "We're out here to rescue our team from someone. Spike's friend, the purple-coated one as you called her, was captured too."

Yorgle said, "That's unfortunate, but I'm glad I could help you a little bit tonight."

"Yeah, thanks for busting us out, literally." said Rainbow Dash, observing the completely destroyed wall.

"You're quite welcome." replied the dragon.

Techorse said, "All we have to do now before heading for Arbiter's castle is to rescue Rarity from her tower."

"Where is it?" asked Fluttershy. His smile disappeared as he realized they had no idea where the tower was. "Well, there was one pony who knew where it was, but we can't question him now." He said.

Yorgle sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to do that, I was just going to stop him from running away, but he struggled."

Applejack was still deeply disturbed by the entire scenario, but said with disgust, "Maybe you can, well, cough 'em up?"

Pinkie Pie shouted, "Yeah, just stick two fingers down your throat and we'll have Sentry back in no time!" Techorse wondered how Pinkie figured out how that works, but decided some things were best left to imagination.

"Alright." said Yorgle, "I'll try." Before he started, he decided to add, "But for the record, I didn't intend to eat him."

"We believe you." Said Applejack, "Now spit him up before it's too late." Yorgle stuck a sharpened claw down his throat and hacked a couple of times before finally regurgitating Sentry onto the remains of the concrete platform. "Gross." said Fluttershy as she looked at the mess.

"Cool!" cheered Pinkie, finding weird bodily functions interesting. Sentry opened his eyes and stood up shaking from the pool of stomach contents, scared out of his wits. Techorse took out his robotic hands and grabbed the acid-soaked Sentry by the horn.

Lifting him up into the air, he pulled the other fist back and said, "Alright, we got you out of there so we could get some information, so spit it out, Sentry."

"What do you want to know?" he asked slowly, trying not to look at Yorgle again.

"Where's the other prison?" asked Techorse angrily as he pulled him closer to his face, "tell me or you're going back in there."

Sentry panicked and screamed, "The other tower's on the other side of the forest! I swear I'm telling the truth!"

"He's lying." said Applejack, "there's nothin' on the other side of that forest."

Techorse picked him up off the ground, "Alright, open wide Yorgle."

"No!" shrieked Sentry. He broke down into tears, "Ok, I'll tell you. The tower is built on the top of the mountain 3 miles in the direction of the arrow sign outside of this fortress. Now please let me go!"

Techorse released his grip on Sentry and watched as he ran from the room crying in psychological terror.

"Now that we know where the tower is, let's go save Rarity!" declared Spike.

"It's night." stated Fluttershy as she looked outside, "Maybe we should think about staying put for now."

"We can use the guard's quarters." Suggested Techorse, "I think every last one of Arbiter's minions fled for his castle."

"Then it's settled." said Applejack, "We'll sleep and head out first thing in the morning." Fluttershy flapped her wings and floated gently into the air in front of Yorgle.

She gave him a hug on the nose and said sweetly, "Thank you so much for helping us."

"Take care, and good luck saving your friends." Said the dragon as he pulled back from Fluttershy and flew off into the night sky.

* * *

Chapter 7

Arbiter's castle reflected the moon well. Its white stone bounced the light perfectly for a dazzling effect. The massive home spanned a mile on each side at least and was made entirely out of stone mined directly from the surrounding mountains. Everywhere on the castle were turrets and lookout points to defend it from anyone stupid enough to attack. A large moat filled with ordinary water surrounded the fortress, and the only way in from the ground was across a special drawbridge which oddly slid out from underneath the castle and across the moat, rather than swinging down. This allowed for a more decorative door on the front, which was painted a crimson red color and decorated with gold swirling designs on the front. From many of the castle towers flew flags bearing Arbiter's cutie mark, an executioner's axe. Yet no statues of the stallion or any other images of him appeared on the castle, because although he appreciated the flags which bore his logo, he was simply not that egotistical and found it psychopathic to want a billion self portraits. All in all, the castle was not a creepy place, but its size could definitely cause fear in Arbiter's enemies. Every hour on the hour, a mining probe would pass by the castle, its cargo bays full of the coal which was making the resident of the land very wealthy. The probes never seemed to acknowledge the fortress, instead mindlessly following their programming to sell the coal at the nearest power plants.

As one of the mining probes drove by, rumbling the foundations of that side of the castle, Twilight Sparkle looked out her prison window at the massive machine.

"_That looks like a giant version of Techorse's mining probes._" She thought as she stared at the worm-like behemoth.

Twilight cast a light spell to provide a beam to see the probe more clearly. From the outside of the castle, a soft cone of lavender colored light illuminated the probe. The cutting head of the machine kept turning slowly as the machine crawled forward, cutting small grooves to run on. As she looked down the body of the probe, Twilight spotted its cargo bay and noticed the vast amounts of coal behind the plexiglass pane. As the probes cut into the surrounding mountains, any captured materials were sucked into the plastic containment unit located midsection on the probe. By finding the massive amounts of coal in the cargo bay, Twilight immediately knew who was behind the amounts of coal being burned. She kept staring at the machine until a moment came when the robot realized it was being watched. It stopped and scared Twilight back into her room by sounding a loud blast on its horn. She ducked back into the room and breathed heavily for a minute before calming down. After recovering from the shock of the blast, Twilight went back into her room. Like the rooms at Sentry's fortress, it was rather accommodating for a prison cell. Not only was she given a bathroom and a bed, Twilight also had a desk to right on, as well as some parchment and a quill. Writing was the only thing keeping her from going insane while under Arbiter's captivity. Twilight sighed, walked over to the desk, and wrote a new message.

"If you have found this, I am being held captive in the horseshoe mountains. The rouge Arbiter has locked me up in his castle. Contact princess Celestia immediately. – Twilight Sparkle."

Arbiter's unicorns had put a spell on the castle which prevented her from using any teleportation spells to escape, and that included teleporting the message to Celestia. However, Techorse had taught her on one of their dates how to make a paper airplane, and that was going to come in handy. Twilight used her magic to fold the parchment into a plane carefully, making sure not to crease the paper too hard in any one direction. Then, she walked over to the window again and peeked out carefully to make sure the mining probe had left. Noticing the metallic giant had moved away and was now in the distance Twilight checked the wind flow, letting the breeze drift gently over her dark purple straight hair. A telekinetic toss sent the message plane out the window and far away from the castle, where it disappeared into the night.

The door to her room was beginning to unlock. Twilight turned around to face the door as it opened with a slam. At the door were two light yellow unicorns, who stepped aside to let their master enter the room. Arbiter entered slowly and walked up to Twilight without saying a word initially. He was a white Pegasus pony, slightly larger than most, with a short gray mane that was well groomed. But his tail looked almost like a rope that had seen better days. What was most prominent about Arbiter was his eyes, although his right one was a beautiful brown, his left eye was damaged. Arbiter had a scar across his left eye at a 30 degree angle downwards, a claw or some other object had scratched the eye out. To hide the ugly injury, he wore an eye patch over it.

Arbiter looked at the saddened Twilight and said to her, "Good evening miss Sparkle. I see you're adjusting to your room quite nicely."

"Can it Arbiter." Replied Twilight sharply, "when Techorse gets here, you're going to wish you hadn't locked me up."

Arbiter laughed and said, "I know he'll be quite angry. But he doesn't really scare me, for you see, I have you. If he does so much as lift a single hoof, I'll simply have to do you in. You've already lost a little hair for his arrogance."

Twilight looked back at her tail. Arbiter had cut off a small piece of the hair to send in the ransom package, and she was a little upset about it.

"It will grow back." said Twilight as she looked back to him. The stallion smiled and made sure he was standing taller than Twilight when he said, "Do you know why I'm doing this whole thing?"

"My coltfriend got you fired and you want revenge?" asked Twilight rhetorically, she was sure that was the right answer. "

On the contrary." Replied Arbiter, "I merely wish to rid the planet of the last threat to its safety, the half-human, half-pony. I could care less about my old job, because I made this land rich by stealing those machines and mining up all this coal."

Twilight said to him with anger, "I knew you were behind the coal. You do know that burning the coal is going to damage the environment forever, right?"

Arbiter shook his head and said, "Twilight, Twilight, you foolish little mare. I have plenty of pegasi who would be happy to clean up the pollution if need be. They'll be paid top money for their efforts."

"But those fumes could give them wing cancer!" protested Twilight, "you monster!"

"I am not the monster!" shouted Arbiter, "It's that stupid Techorse, he's a human, and I must make him pay for what his people did to this world!"

Twilight slapped Arbiter in the head and said to him, "Hypocrite, stealing the human machines and then saying Techorse is the bad guy!"

Arbiter stuck his leg out and kept his guards from rushing to defend him. He shook the slap off and monologued in a sinister tone, "I have made my life the best it's ever been by salvaging the alien technology and employing it to serve ponykind. The ponies from this country of Mineland have had their lives improved too. Until I came here, they were poor coal miners, nothing, dirt beneath Celestia's hooves. She didn't care for them at all, and their towns aren't even on the maps. But I did what was noble and brought them out of the dirt, the money from this extra coal will make them loved for once in their lives!"

"You can't buy love." said Twilight softly. Arbiter threw his black cape around him as he turned to leave.

Before he exited the cell, he said to her, "I want you to know something. No matter how much you annoy me and say I'm in the wrong, I'm not going to hurt you. But if Techorse doesn't show up and meet his rightful fate, I will not hold back. He has two days."

Arbiter stormed out of the room. As the unicorns following him left, one of them turned around to shut the door behind them. Twilight's ears drooped when she saw the last guard draw a hoof across his neck to make the universal symbol for death. He then shut the door with a slam, leaving her all alone again.

* * *

Chapter 8

The morning sun had finally risen over the remains of the first fortress. Yorgle's smashing had destroyed roughly half of the structure and the drawbridge was permanently lowered due to the damage. The friends woke up from inside the barracks and proceeded out of the fortress immediately, as time was of the essence. They knew the longer they took to rescue Rarity, the more she would complain about how late they were in achieving it. As they stepped outside into the sunlight, Techorse took a deep breath in of the warm air.

"Let's get moving." He said, looking at all his team members, "we don't want to keep her waiting in that tower."

Applejack said to him, "I'll say. Miss pretty is going to be awful cranky when we get there."

"Hey, maybe all the guards will have passed out from her whining! We might not need to rescue her at all." joked Pinkie Pie.

"Would you guys stop slamming Rarity?" asked Spike angrily. Techorse told Spike, "We're just trying to make a dangerous mission a little comical, ok?"

"Yeah." agreed Rainbow Dash, "Everypony needs a little humor."

"Ok, but stop the insults." said Spike grudgingly. "You got it, lover boy." teased Rainbow Dash, using her flight skills to draw a small heart in the air. Spike groaned and jumped off of Techorse's back, "I'm walking on my own."

"You sure?" he asked, swinging his tail over the dragon's head. "Positive."

Replied Spike with a grumpy tone.

"Hey Techorse, I've noticed you've been using your tail a lot more lately." said Pinkie Pie, taking note of the swing.

He replied, "I never thought about it before, but it's actually pretty neat having one."

"You bet it is!" continued Pinkie Pie, "in fact, I wrote a song about having a tail!"

"Oh no, here it comes." said Applejack mournfully, shutting her eyes in preparation for the agony.

Pinkie Pie started singing, "The best thing about having a tail, is it acts like a safety rail! It keeps you from falling over when you stumble around!"

Techorse chuckled and shook his head gently. He was always amused by Pinkie's singing. The others were very annoyed by the pink pony's tunes though.

"It keeps the bugs from biting! It's your rear-end's silver lining!"

"Make her stop!" said Spike, covering his scaly ears.

"Why?" laughed Techorse, "her positive attitude makes me happy."

Fluttershy quietly said to Techorse, "I agree. Without her, we'd all be very sad."

"And that's why it's so great to have a tail!" finished Pinkie Pie, who bent over on her front legs and gave her fluffy tail a couple of swings through the air, tickling Applejack's nose.

"Enough nonsense!" she said as she pushed Pinkie Pie's rump out of the way of her path.

"Grumpy." mumbled Pinkie Pie as she fell behind the rest of the group. "Don't let them get to you." whispered Fluttershy, "I liked your song."

"Thanks!" she said as she gave Fluttershy a smile. Techorse noticed that Rainbow Dash was way ahead of the group, her flight was allowing her to move much faster than the others. He thought of a trick he could play to deal with his boredom and brought out the turbofans. He lifted off the ground gently and inverted himself in the air, then flew underneath of Rainbow Dash and looked up at her.

Techorse matched Rainbow's flying speed and made sure he was directly beneath her when he shouted, "How's it going?" Rainbow Dash halted in midair before shouting in surprise and looked down at him.

"You scared me!" she said.

"Stop getting ahead of us then." said Techorse. "How are you even flying upside down like that?" asked Rainbow Dash, "that saddle of yours can't really be as good as a pair of wings."

"That's right, they're not as powerful as your wings." explained Techorse, "but I put a gyroscope in the saddle that lets me fly inverted like this without crashing." Rainbow shook her head and fell back to rejoin the others. Techorse flipped himself over and landed on the ground gently, then with a robotic clang, the fans slipped back into the saddle and the panels closed up over them.

"When do we get to the tower?" asked Pinkie Pie, looking at the surrounding terrain.

"Soon enough" replied Applejack.

"There's gotta be a way we can make this go faster!" grumbled Pinkie.

"We can, by staying really quiet!" encouraged Fluttershy.

Techorse sighed heavily due to his frustration with his team's lack of tolerance for Pinkie's antics.

"The tower should be on top of that mountain up ahead." He said to his friends. "It's obscured right now by the fog up there, but once we get up, we'll be able to see it."

Applejack asked Techorse calmly, "When we get to Arbiter's castle, Techorse, will you, ya know, have to…"

"Go ahead and ask whatever it is you want to, Applejack." said Techorse as he looked at her.

Rainbow Dash flew beside Techorse and said, "I think she wants to know if you're gonna shoot him."

The pegasus went off topic immediately, "Oh! Last night, I had this awesome dream where we stormed into Arbiter's castle, and you guys were all tied up by him! So I swooped in and saved the day, pounding that evil stallion without stopping! He begged for mercy, but I wouldn't let him have any. I was given a medal at his funeral."

Techorse glared at Rainbow Dash and said sternly, "I hope you understand that this is not a mission to get rid of him!"

"But he locked us up, and might hurt Twilight!" said Rainbow Dash, "that doesn't make you mad?"

"It does." He replied bitterly, "but that's no reason to hurt him. I'm really ashamed of you, Rainbow Dash, having fun with a dream like that. Because despite his kidnapping and threats, Arbiter is only doing what he thinks is right. I plan on settling this issue peacefully by proving his suspicions of me wrong."

"What if you can't?" asked Rainbow, "Huh?"

Techorse said sadly, "Then I'll have to let him do what he wants to me. I won't let Twilight get hurt." He sighed and let a tear hit the ground. "Maybe it seems like this is an adventure where a guy goes and rescues his girl. But very likely, Twilight's going to have to rescue me in the end. If Arbiter won't let her go without me kicking the bucket first, I have no choice but to do that."

Techorse kept letting the tears flow, he was losing manliness by the second, but he could care less.

"He's really breaking down." said Fluttershy. She stroked the mane on his neck to comfort him, "there there, we won't let him hurt you."

"I don't see why he's so upset." said Spike. "Same reason you're upset."

Applejack told him, "The girl he loves is in danger, and he feels bad about it."

Spike nervously asked, "How did you know about me and Rarity?"

"We all know you have feelings for her, silly!" giggled Pinkie Pie, "we just don't say much because there's no chance you'll…"

"Shut up!" shouted Techorse angrily, shocking them all into stopping their walk. "Don't you talk like that!" he demanded, shoving a robotic hand into Pinkie Pie's face.

"I once thought I'd never find love when I was Wizard's slave." He said, rage venting, "Don't you dare tell anyone they can't do the same, no matter what the odds are."

Pinkie let her mouth open in surprise at his sudden wrath, and backed off, showing no sadness whatsoever. "Spike, get up on my back, we're going ahead of the group and talking alone." He ordered. The dragon climbed up onto him, and they pulled at least 200 feet in front of the others before Techorse let his anger dissipate.

"Thanks for standing up for me." said the young dragon. He then sighed and said with despair, "but I guess they're right. What chance do I have with Rarity?" Techorse said, "Wizard turned me into a pony, and as a result, I found it easy to fall in love with Twilight. Trust me when I say this Spike, if that's possible, then there's got to be a way for you to become a pony as well."

"Yeah, but your change is forever." He said, "Those 'scales of justice' granted your wish. It was your choice."

"Maybe the scales did grant me the favor." Argued Techorse, "but that doesn't mean your dream of starting a relationship with Rarity is doomed. I have faith that things will turn out for you, Spike." Spike crossed his arms and turned around on the saddle, saying sadly, "Thanks bro, but you're an element holder, and I'm just a small dragon with no future."

"You have a future too Spike, but you don't see it right now, just like I couldn't when I was human. I know you'll have a good future." "How do you know?" he asked miserably. "There wouldn't be any justice if the kindest dragon I know never finds love. And I know justice personally, he's a good friend."

Spike smiled and knew Techorse was telling the truth. "You know, why do you love Twilight so much?" he asked after a short pause, hoping to gain some romance tips.

"She saved my life." He replied, "And for that I owe her everything I am. She's also the most beautiful pony I know, with the best personality ever. That's why I'm going on this mission, despite knowing what Arbiter will do to me. I couldn't live without her, so if I can't live, maybe at least she can." Spike nodded and thought on the pony's words. He felt good inside from the encouragement he had received, and decided to nap on the saddle as the team headed up the mountain for the tower.


	3. part 3 Chapters 9 through 12

Techorse II: Captain Arbiter's Revenge

By Spirals95

* * *

Chapter 9

The tower on the mountain was just that, a vertical structure designed to prevent the escape of flightless occupants. Any captive dumb enough to attempt escape would likely plummet onto the sharp mountain rocks below. It was once again made out of white stone from the mountains, and was topped by a large red cubic roof, making it more of a keep than a true tower. It was here that Rarity was being held captive at the very top, inside a room accessible only by the massive spiral staircase inside. Although the tower had other cells along the way up, they were empty as the building was commissioned specifically for this one plan. More guards patrolled the inside of the tower and around the perimeter, this time some of them were female. It seemed even Arbiter could run out of male mercenaries to hire. Most of the forces were comprised of earth ponies and unicorns, as the unmarked lands were home to very few pegasi due to the lack of floating cities where they could be born. They patrolled mindlessly around the area, bored, but with happiness in their hearts, their lands would finally get recognition under Arbiter's leadership. Occasionally they would trade shifts and some of them would go inside the tower and walk up and down the stairs, while the others would circle the base. The team of heroes found themselves looking at the tower from behind a boulder, carefully looking at the massive wooden doors.

"How are we gonna get in this time?" asked Applejack. Techorse opened his mouth to speak his plan but was interrupted by Spike's snoring, so he shook his back to wake him up.

"Get up Spike, battle time." He said. The dragon opened his eyes and fell off in shock, thankfully landing behind the boulder without being seen.

"Ok, I'm up!" he said as he got off the ground and rubbed the sore leg he crushed from falling.

"Good, it's time to make a plan." said Rainbow Dash. She peeked over the top of the boulder and looked straight up the tower, seeing a large window with bars at the top.

"I could just fly up there." She said to the others, "but they've barred up the windows."

"We could try sneaking inside." suggested Fluttershy.

"The problem is that it's broad daylight and they probably know who we are." Said Techorse, "if we were to try to sneak in, chances are we'd get caught."

"Ooh! I know!" shouted Pinkie Pie, hopping up and down. "Yes Pinkie?" Acknowledged Applejack grudgingly, knowing a stupid idea was imminent.

"We should try pretending we've been captured ourselves, and then they'd let us in! We just have to disguise two of us as the capturers."

Rainbow dash got a little upset, "that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard!"

"No, she's right." Said Techorse happily, "That idea worked once in an old Earth movie I watched."

"Movies ain't real life!" protested Applejack.

"Yeah, but those guards haven't seen a single Earth movie." He retorted, "It might work on them."

"Fine, we'll try it." said Applejack reluctantly.

"Ok then, we'll need disguises." said Techorse as he looked at Pinkie and Applejack, "Grab some mud over there and blot out your cutie marks. Arbiter has his guards trained to identify ours, so you have to do it as part of the disguise."

Applejack nodded and went over to the nearby mud puddle with Pinkie Pie. "In this scenario, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and I will be the captives. You, Pinkie and Spike will pretend to be bounty hunters who have captured us and are requesting a reward."

"This plan's sweet!" said Spike excitedly as he made war paint marks on his face with some of the mud. "Applejack, I know you have a spare rope under your hat. If you give it to me, I can tie us three up to make it more convincing. I'll leave Rainbow Dash's a little loose so she can free us when we get to Rarity's cell." The team finished the preparations, tying Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's wings to their sides will putting the last loop around Techorse's neck.

Then, they walked out as a group out from behind the boulder and proceeded to the front of the tower. Four earth ponies of various colors approached them.

One of them said, "Halt. What is your business here?"

Applejack said in a gruff tone to disguise her voice, "We're bounty hunters who have captured Techorse, Fluttershy, and the incredibly stuck up Rainbow Dash." Rainbow spun her head around and glared angrily at Applejack.

"We'd like to lock them up in this tower so Arbiter can pick them up at his will."

The guard stomped her front hoof on the ground in joy and said, "Wonderful, excellent work bounty hunters. You will be paid the 2500 bit reward as soon as we lock them up. Follow me." They entered the tower and looked up in awe at the sheer size of the stone staircase. It seemed to go up forever, as the top was darkened by the lack of windows in the place. They continued their charade, talking with the guards as they walked up the stairs.

"So tell me your names." said one of the guards, "Arbiter will want to honor you for this."

"Uh…" said Applejack nervously, "I'm, um." She looked around for something to base a name off of and spotted a hammer shaped cutie mark on a passing guard. "I'm Warhammer." She finished, "this is Agent Random, and the little guy is Forbidden Love. Spike crossed his arms and grunted, Applejack was abusing the plan to throw insults.

"You three sure think you're tough bounty hunters." Said Techorse, "but you'll never get Applejack or Spike the dragon. They'd kick your tails."

"Hey, what about Pinkie Pie?" asked Agent Random as she looked back at Techorse.

He answered, "Of course. She escaped you didn't she, Agent Random?"

"Shut up prisoner!" shouted the guard, flipping her yellow mane in the air, "I didn't ask you to talk."

The guard did take interest in what Techorse had said though, so she turned back to Warhammer and asked, "I can see you've recaptured Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, but Techorse has more friends?"

"Two of them" said Applejack, "both earth ponies."

"Well, what about this Spike the dragon guy?" Applejack feared the plan might fall through, as Spike was standing right there and was still obviously a dragon.

But to her surprise, he spoke up in a deep accent that seemed to be a mix of Italian and Spanish, "This Spike guy is an old enemy of mine. 40 foot tall beast who plays kiss up to the pony's friends. The only one he doesn't get along with is this Applejack we're talking about, who teases him about his crush."

"How mean, to tease someone about who they love." said the guard pitifully, "I don't know why Arbiter didn't want to get her too, she's a monster." Warhammer frowned and hung her head sadly.

"I'm also curious about the one named Pinkie Pie." Continued the guard, "know anything about her?"

"She's the most sweetest and fun pony in all of Ponyville!" shouted Agent Random, "Everypony likes her parties!" She realized she wasn't supposed to say that and corrected in a tough voice, "But she's against everything Arbiter's for! We should nab her next chance we get!"

They reached the top of the staircase at this point, where there were two large cell doors. "Alright, we're here. Put these guys in the other cell separate from the first prisoner. We don't want them conspiring."

"Please." begged Fluttershy sadly to the guard, "what are you going to do to me? Please don't hurt me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you." Assured the guard, "We haven't been ordered to torture any prisoners, _yet_." Fluttershy gulped and shut her light blue eyes.

"Now Rainbow Dash!" shouted Techorse. Rainbow tore the loosened rope from around her middle and pounced on the female guard, hammering her head with multiple blows from her hooves. Techorse worked the rest of the ropes off with his robotic hands and threw the rope down the well of the staircase. He then switched to his laser cannons and shot one of the stairs, breaking it up and leaving a gap between them and the top floor they were standing on. No more guards were going to come up that way. Rainbow Dash finished beating up the guard and put her unconscious body over to the side.

"That was mean." criticized Fluttershy.

"I didn't hurt her badly. Just put her lights out," said Rainbow, folding her wings back up after combat, "she'll be fine."

Applejack brushed off her mud disguise and said, "Great, with her down and no way for the guards to get up the stairs, all we have to do is…" A hush fell over the room as the flames on the torches lining the walls bent in one direction, as if wind had moved them.

"It's the ninjas." said Spike ominously. Techorse took out his laser cannons and scanned the area.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rainbow, confused as to what the dragon meant.

"They're what captured you!" he explained, and now they're here to defend Rarity. "I don't see anyone!" continued Rainbow, "I think you've just being paranoid. There are no ninja ponies."

"Not even the ones behind you?" asked Fluttershy with mortal terror in her voice.

"Not even the ones behind me."

Rainbow Dash's pupils shrank as the information entered her brain. She slowly turned around to look at them. The three ninjas stared at her angrily from behind the masks of black cloth. Rainbow Dash yelled in fright and took off into the air to avoid being smacked by their wings.

"Hey, ninjas!" shouted Techorse, "stand down before we have to do this the hard way!" The ninjas looked at each other and flicked their wings, sending a number of throwing stars at them. Techorse ducked and looked back as the shuriken stuck in the wall behind him. Applejack ran up to one of the ninjas and turned around to buck him, but the pony was simply gone by the time she reached his location.

"That does it!" shouted Techorse, sliding the laser cannons out of his saddle, "I'm firing my lasers!" Bolts of yellow energy streamed out of the cannons, but the ninjas moved quickly, becoming black blurs that surrounded the friends. It was obvious Techorse was missing and not doing any damage with his lasers whatsoever, but he continued to fire in hopes he could score a hit of some kind.

"Spike, breath fire on them!" he said loudly over the noise of his guns. "They have fireproof outfits!" he replied, "It won't do any good!" One of the ninjas rushed up and smacked Techorse in the side, knocking him over and crushing the right laser on the stone floor. He stood back up and looked at the wrecked gun, it drooped to the side and sparked. Grunting, he continued fire with the other weapon, blasting away. Another black blur zoomed to his left, missing him by an inch. Techorse noticed his gun wasn't shooting anymore, and he looked at it. It seemed to be fine, but after a second, it slid off the saddle and hit the floor, cut cleanly from the gadget. Fluttershy couldn't back out of the tornado of ninjas, and laid down on the floor, covering her head with her front hooves in fear. Rainbow Dash tried to put up a fight, but even though she was a fast flier, the ninjas were faster on the ground, and they couldn't be hit by her dives from the air.

"There has to be a way to stop them!" she said before shrieking in pain as a hoof punched her in the side.

Techorse thought about it and said, "Maybe they're fast, but they still have body heat. Time to use my newest gadget." The panels on the sides of the saddle opened up, and out of them emerged a pair of simple metal racks, each with a small red rocket on top.

"Are those missiles? Where did you get those?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"I modified the design of Schadenfreude's missiles to fit my saddle and track heat instead of sound."

"Cool!" she replied as she ducked a shuriken. Techorse scanned the room for the blurs that were the pony ninjas and aimed his launchers at the first one he found. He locked on the first missile and mentally "pulled the trigger". A pair of missiles left the racks with a whoosh and flew around in a circle. An explosion occurred as it hit its target, and the first ninja was flung into the air, where Rainbow Dash clobbered him. The burned ninja dropped on the ground next to the guard. The smoking racks at the sides of Techorse retracted back into the saddle for a second, before re-emerging reloaded with a fresh pair of projectiles. Firing his other missiles, Techorse repeated his tactic against the other two ninjas, and soon they were all defeated and piled up on the floor.

"We did it, we beat the ninjas!" cheered Pinkie.

Techorse said, "I lost my laser cannons though, so I have no idea how we're supposed to unlock Rarity's cell."

Spike walked up to the iron door and looked at the lock. He breathed in deeply and breathed a very small but concentrated flame on it. The padlock began to glow red, and then white, before it finally melted into a puddle of useless lead on the ground. Spike dragged open the heavy door and ran inside the cell to find the love of his life.

"Wow." Said Rainbow Dash plainly, "I didn't know he could do that."

"Anything's possible when your crush is in danger." Fluttershy told her. Spike entered the room containing Rarity and found her crying on her bed in the dismal cell.

"Rarity!" he said as he ran up and gave her a big hug.

"Spike?" said Rarity as she looked up in surprise in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

"I've come to rescue you!" he replied.

She cried, "Oh, thank you Spike! It's so nasty in here, they never clean. You're so brave to come here by yourself darling." Rarity kissed him on the forehead, which nearly caused him to faint. Techorse entered the room at this time and said, "Time's up Spike, I can't hold the girls off any longer."

"Techorse?" asked Rarity in surprise as she looked up at him.

He rolled his eyes in response, "Of course it's me."

"Sorry, you were a little hard to recognize by that mud on your head." giggled Rarity.

"It's a disguise." He replied as he rubbed the dirt off with his robotic arms, "They'll do that to you."

"Anyways, let's get out of here. I'm glad Spike could save you, but we need to keep moving and stop Arbiter."

"Is he the one who got me locked up in here?" asked Rarity.

"Yeah." said Spike, "as well as Twilight."

"Why, when I get my hooves on him for cramming me in this place." She said with gritted teeth.

"Oh boy." said Techorse. He thought to himself, "_With Rarity back on the team, we're going to have to put up with a lot more whining._"

Interestingly enough, the team left the tower without much further resistance from the guards. It seemed that they abandoned their posts when they expected the ninjas to win the battle for them. So the team escaped the hold and made a straight line for Arbiter's castle. To Techorse's dismay, the trip was much farther than he had anticipated. Luckily, Applejack had a relative who owned an inn in a small town just a few clicks from Arbiter's castle, and they decided to spend the night in relative safety before finally confronting the rouge Captain.

* * *

Chapter 10

Twilight was getting used to being locked up in Arbiter's castle. She had kept herself busy writing plenty of things on the paper and parchment provided by the guards. It seemed as if a few of them actually had pity on her situation, and even brought her something special like a ration of fruit. But Twilight only wanted one thing, to go home with her head still attached to her neck. She looked at herself in a mirror and decided the best thing to do was to go out with dignity in the event that her best friends didn't arrive to save her. During her captivity, Twilight had practiced regeneration spells and had managed to grow back the chunk of tail hair that Arbiter had shaved off. Although only a cosmetic spell, it was practice that kept her occupied. She had nightmares every night she had stayed in the castle, and started to face reality, that eventually she would sleep one last night. Tomorrow afternoon was the deadline for Techorse to arrive, if he didn't, it was certain Arbiter would keep his word. She continued to get a last look at herself as she heard two mares having a discussion outside.

"So, do you think that guy is going to show up?" said one of the girls. "I sure hope so. I really don't want to see this poor girl's head come off. Such a thing has never happened in our peaceful land before." Twilight slowly walked up to the door to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Arbiter says that if we keep up this image of fearsomeness though, we'll finally get on the map! Don't you want that?"

"Well, yeah, but I really don't want to earn our place with so much violence. Why hasn't our coal sales won us our recognition yet?"

"I don't know. But I trust Arbiter will make sure Celestia doesn't forget our country again!"

Twilight learned that many of the citizens of the country she was in felt unloved because Celestia had somehow managed to overlook them. They had never received any help in defending against monsters or repairs from natural disasters. Arbiter had come in one day and turned the place around through the ramp up in coal production, and was hoping this commodity would get his people to be appreciated by the princesses. The two guards stopped talking as the door barged open, pushing Twilight down onto the ground.

Arbiter groaned and said nastily, "Get up you idiot, and stop eavesdropping on my troops. If you must know anything, you can ask me." Twilight rolled over onto her legs and stood up.

Arbiter let his black cape settle on the ground gently, "I have a confession to make. I was bluffing this whole time, you'll be out of here tomorrow if Techorse fails to show up."

"Really?" asked Twilight hopefully.

"Not really." Replied Arbiter, smirking evilly, "I just wanted to make sure you're thoroughly demoralized for tomorrow."

Twilight frowned, and started crying in front of the stallion. She let her horn start to glow, attempting to fire a bolt at the pony she hated so much.

"Cut it out." He shouted, "You know there's nothing you can do. My unicorns have most of your powers neutralized. Your only hope is if your stupid coltfriend shows up and turns himself in to me."

"You'll be sorry you did this." Whispered Twilight, sobbing.

"Let me explain something to you, lass." said Arbiter as he shook his head slowly, "I have nothing against you personally. But that pony you love is actually a bloodthirsty alien who threatens the stability of this very planet. You may think I just want revenge for losing my old job, but it's much more than that. I was humiliated when I tried to do what I thought was best for the safety of this world, and my judgment on this creature must be vindicated, even if I must go down to get rid of him! I know he's going to attack me when he gets here, and when he does, I'll have plenty of evidence that he's the violent alien he is!"

"I can't believe your this upset with Tech just because he got you fired!" complained Twilight.

Arbiter shook his head, "This isn't about losing my post as captain of the guard. Granted I was the best Celestia ever had, but this is really about protecting the planet from the last external threat to it."

Twilight, nearly angry enough to spit, growled at him, "My brother was a much better captain than you'll ever be."

Arbiter immediately burst out laughing, "Shining? Oh come now, everypony this side of the world knows that he's completely useless as a captain! He never studied his potential enemies, and as a result he fell for the tricks of a rouge group of changelings! I would have been able to see right through it immediately."

For some reason, Twilight found it hard to disagree with Arbiter about her brother's lack of knowledge, but still put forth another argument, "Well, if you think you're a better captain, why don't you let me write him? I'm sure he'll be happy to try and rescue me from you."

Arbiter laughed subtly and said with a sinister tone, "If you want to be an only foal quickly, go right ahead and do that. Your brother is weak with weapons, something my family excels at."

"Might doesn't make right." argued Twilight.

"Perhaps not." agreed Arbiter, "But I'm sure Techorse follows that rule. When he arrives here, he will most certainly attack me for capturing you."

"He won't hurt you." said Twilight, "I know him better."

"We'll see." Sneered Arbiter, "he has until tomorrow at noon to show up at the front gate. Should he fail, you know what I must do to you. Tonight my guards will bring you one final delivery of paper. You may write a letter to your parents explaining what's going to happen to you."

Arbiter backed out of the room and smiled, "And don't worry. I'm not going to send your parents your head. They can come and get it themselves." Arbiter laughed and left down the hallway, making sure his cape wasn't dragging behind him. The two mares standing outside entered the room, one was a silver coated unicorn, and the other an orange Pegasus. Both of them were frowning and looking at Twilight with pity.

The unicorn said to Twilight, "Here's the paper and the envelope. Write and address the letter, and we'll send it out tomorrow afternoon." The unicorn magically moved the paper and the ominous black envelope over to the writing desk and set it down. Twilight looked at the paper and turned away from the desk. She set herself down on the cot and stared miserably at the floor, letting her front legs hang over the edge of the bed. The orange Pegasus approached Twilight and ran a hoof through her hair.

"We don't want this either."

She said, "But if we don't, we'll never get noticed. We'll all be poor and worthless again. It's nothing personal from us, just him."

Twilight looked up at her and said, "I know it's not your fault. But I wish you'd all work up the courage to overthrow Arbiter and find another way to come out of your situation."

"I'm sorry, but this is the only way." replied the unicorn.

Twilight turned her head towards her and asked mournfully, "Will it hurt?"

The unicorn let tears well up in her eyes and sobbed, "I have no idea, please don't ask me that!"

"I just don't want to suffer." said Twilight.

"I'm sure it will be over quickly." Said the Pegasus slowly, trying not to feel any sympathy, but she broke down too, and soon they were all crying about what was going to happen tomorrow.

* * *

Chapter 11

The light from the sunrise entered the slits on the blinds of the Old Apple Inn. The rays of light brushed over Applejack's eyes as she slept in her bed. She was woken up naturally by the photons and got up out of her bed to begin the last day of their mission. Applejack woke the others up and got them ready to leave the inn, but not before thanking her second cousin Applepocket for the stay. The team was out of the inn after breakfast around 8 in the morning, ready to make the hour long walk to Arbiter's castle. As the group started down the path that led through the small village where the inn was located, they discussed what was going to happen that day.

Spike said sadly, "Today's not going to end well, is it?"

Fluttershy answered him, "Twilight's going to be ok, Spike. I promise."

"Usually when Fluttershy promises something, it's kept." Said Rarity, "I'm sure she'll be ok." At the back of the group was Techorse and Rainbow Dash.

"So" she asked, "how many of Arbiter's bones are you going to break for all this?"

"Zero." Replied Techorse sternly as he looked at his friend, "and you're breaking zero too. That's an order."

"What?" shouted Rainbow in shock and offense.

"You heard me, we're not going to hurt Arbiter for this." He declared, "I'm going to reason with him and prove I'm innocent of what he accuses me of." Rarity turned around and stuck her face into Techorse's, making sure he knew she was angry.

"He locked me up in an old, dusty building on a whim, and you're telling us not to hurt him? You selfish brute!"

"Hey, he's right." said Fluttershy, picking her head up, "I think Arbiter's just confused. We should forgive and move on with our lives."

"Thank you Fluttershy." said Techorse, giving Rarity a smile as he pushed her aside.

Applejack looked back and said to them, "Enough arguin' about how painfully we're gonna beat 'em up. The castle should be just over this here hill."

"I think it's important we talk about this!" said Pinkie Pie, "I gotta know why Techorse doesn't want to hurt Arbiter after all the mean stuff he did to us!"

"And Twilight!" reminded Spike. "Aren't you supposed to be the element of justice?" asked Rainbow teasingly, "because you sure don't want to bring him to justice!"

Techorse addressed the entire group, "Justice doesn't always mean judgment has to be passed you know. I want to solve this peacefully if possible, and to prove that you don't have to use your weapons to solve problems. In my mind, Arbiter doesn't deserve anything horrible, he just is not thinking rationally and sees me as a threat. If we could convince him of that, we can forget about this and go home. I don't want to hurt him just because he took Twilight from me or locked you all up."

"You're dumb." said Rainbow Dash, shaking her head, "he's not going to listen."

"If he doesn't, I'm not fighting my way out of this. These employees of his are ponies too who are only following orders and deserve to live. I'm not going to hurt any innocent citizens just because I want to escape intact."

"So noble." said Fluttershy happily.

"Well, we're here." said Applejack plainly as if a tour guide, "There's the castle."

"That place is huge!" commented Pinkie Pie, "do you think Arbiter ever throws any parties in there?"

"Probably." said Applejack, "he'll want to celebrate after he gets us."

"Relax Applejack." comforted Techorse as he placed a robotic hand on her shoulder, "It's me he wants, not you."

"So what now?" asked Rainbow, "If we're not going to fight, do we just go up and knock?"

"Yes." He replied, "It's exactly what we're going to do."

* * *

Chapter 12

Arbiter was in his study reading a book on great leadership skills. His reading glasses consisted of a pair of lenses, one was shaded black to match his eyepatch. As he read, there was a loud pounding on the door. Arbiter groaned due to the interruption and asked, "Yes, what is it?"

A light brown earth pony entered and said, "Sir, Techorse and his companions have shown up at the front door. He must have freed the others before coming here!"

"Casualty report." Said Arbiter, certain the arrival of his enemy meant trouble.

"Nothing. He's surrendered." replied the messenger.

Arbiter took the glasses off and asked in awe, "What?" "He simply knocked and requested to see you."

"Where's Sparkle?" asked Arbiter.

"Still in her cell sir, shall I get her for you?" he asked.

Arbiter nodded his head slowly, "Get her out of there and to the main entrance immediately." As the messenger galloped away, Arbiter went to the closet in his room and selected a fine purple cape lined with a gold thread seam. He tied the cape around his neck and felt the thick cloth drape over his back. The stallion walked over to a wide mirror and observed the cape.

"No reason looking like a Saturday morning villain." He said. Arbiter continued the preparations for his meeting, exchanging his eye patch for a blue band of silk which he wore at an angle on his head to completely hide the scar. Finally, he made sure to brush his teeth and mane to look as presentable as possible to his guest.

"Showtime." He said as he put the brush back down and observed his beauty with narcissus pride.

The stallion left his private room and moved quickly through his castle, making sure to nod and smile at his various workers as he traveled in the hallways. Eventually, he reached the main entrance of the castle, where ten of his guards were flanking the six ponies and the dragon that had recently entered. Arbiter descended down the main staircase and shouted with joy to the team, "Ah, you're finally here!" Techorse walked up to meet his enemy. The guards tried to block him off, but Arbiter shook a hoof at them.

"No, no, no." He said, waving a hoof jokingly at the trooper, "that's no way to treat a guest."

Arbiter walked over to Techorse and said, "So, you actually showed up. That takes guts, Techorse."

"Where's Twilight?" He asked plainly.

"In one piece!" replied Arbiter, "In fact, look at the clock! You made it with one hour to spare."

"Why are you so happy?" asked Rainbow Dash suspiciously. Rarity looked at his outfit and added, "and why are you dressed so much better than last time we saw you?"

Arbiter replied, "I wanted to look presentable for you. What, you thought I was a stereotypical villain who twirls his mustache and ties ponies to railroad tracks? Far from it."

Techorse said, "Captain Arbiter, I come here to give myself up to you in exchange for the release of my friends."

Arbiter laughed and said, "Please, I'm Viscount Arbiter."

"What?" asked Pinkie Pie in confusion. Arbiter explained, "Well, you see, when I was fired by Celestia, I found this country. It was so poorly led by some idiot unicorn prince named Blueblood that it had been thrust into poverty and despair." Rarity couldn't help but laugh at the ex-prince's failure, she had been mistreated by him in the past. Arbiter sighed at the interruption before continuing, "Using the mining equipment salvaged from the alien's factory base, we've been digging up enough coal to fix the economy in a matter of months! As a reward, I was made supreme leader of this country, the admirable Viscount Arbiter!"

"You have to stop burning the coal or the animals will die." Begged Fluttershy, "you can sell it any other way, but please, stop the pollution! Techorse told me about this, and I'm begging you."

Arbiter acted strangely at this moment, he actually said something sweetly, "Fluttershy, I promise I will switch the coal to other uses after tomorrow. We've made enough money to afford to do so now, and I will make sure the environment doesn't get hurt on my watch. I know how much you care about it."

Fluttershy smiled, she was overjoyed her kindness had convinced Arbiter so quickly.

"I'm glad you decided not to burn too much more coal." Said Applejack, "now can you please stop this other nonsense?"

Arbiter shook his head, "This isn't nonsense, miss Applejack. Techorse here must pay for his alien nature. You and the others are free to go however."

"We're not leaving without him!" said Spike with anger. Arbiter gave Spike a rub on the head with his front leg.

"Look at this cute little dragon!" he said, "is this that pet of hers Twilight was talking about?"

"I'm not a pet!" replied Spike in rage, nearly about to set Arbiter on fire. Twilight was led down the stairs by two guards, and when she saw Techorse, she gave a huge smile and galloped down to meet him. She grabbed him and they embraced, hugging eachother tightly.

"I knew you'd make it!" she said.

"Of course Twilight, I love you." He replied. Spike ran over and gave Twilight a hug too. "You're ok!" he shouted, glad to see his best friend alive and well.

"Oh Spike, you came too?" she asked.

"Techorse let me." He answered.

Twilight gave him a look of disbelief and shook her head. Arbiter sighed and said sarcastically, "Such fine young love. Too bad I have to destroy it."

"It is!" said Pinkie Pie, "Maybe you could just let us all go. I'll throw you a big party for it!" One of the guards shoved a rag in Pinkie's mouth to shut her up.

Arbiter threw his wing around Techorse and said to him, "It's time I take you on a tour of my castle and let you see what I've accomplished."

"Guards!" he ordered, "take the others to the dining hall and fix them something. We'll be back." Arbiter led Techorse away out of the room and deeper into the castle.

"Can you just speed this up and do me in now?" he asked of the Viscount.

"Oh no, I plan to rub in my achievement first, half pony alien." He replied. Techorse sighed, he was actually getting impatient for his own demise. Arbiter led Techorse into a small room where workers were busy writing messages and taking orders.

"Here, you can see where we sell off our coal to bring in money for our country." He said, "I make one hundred times what your company does."

"Money isn't everything." replied Techorse, "I'm not impressed."

Arbiter frowned and whisked him away to the next room of the castle.

"Here is my royal armory." He said, pointing out the ponies trying on armor and messing with head-mounted weapons, "I have a large army of willing troops under my command now. Much larger than you'll ever lead I'm sure."

"I don't mind being the soldier instead of the commander." Answered Techorse, "in fact, I like to take suggestions and orders all the time to make sure I don't do something stupid." Arbiter gritted his teeth, he wasn't getting to his mortal enemy like he thought he was going to. In his mind, he thought Techorse would break down, being jealous or sad about all his achievements. But Arbiter had an ace in the hole that he was sure would make Techorse see how insignificant and lowly he was compared to him.

Arbiter led his foe over to one last door, a big golden one with a round silver handle. The door had many hearts carved into it. The Viscount stomped his hoof, and a servant pulled the door open for him. Techorse and Arbiter stepped into a very large room bathed in brilliant white light. The room was made completely out of marble and featured many beautiful carved stone columns, on which baskets filled with flowers hung. In the center of the room was a beautiful ivory fountain with a carving of a Pegasus pony foal spitting water at the top. To the sides were very beautiful large cushions of many different colors, each made of the finest material in the world. But the most interesting feature of all of this room was its occupants. They could hear the laughter of a dozen beautiful mares which inhabited the room. To their species, these mares were the sexiest and most beautiful females that could be fantasized about. Some of them talked and gossiped while sitting on the cushions, others splashed and played in the fountains like little children, despite being full grown or in their late teens. Three of the mares got up from the cushions and approached Arbiter with smiles and spiritual fire in their eyes. The first one was a Pegasus pony that had a gorgeous silver coat, with a yellow mane which flowed freely over the sides of her head and neck. To her right was a unicorn with stunning green eyes, a glowing swirl of white and pink hair, and a very shiny light blue coat. The last one was another Pegasus who had an exotic orange coat, and her black mane and tail almost gave her tigress like qualities. The three mares surrounded Arbiter and sighed as they stroked his mane and brushed his tail gently.

Arbiter said to Techorse, "These are the females who want to marry me, Techorse. One dozen of the most beautiful mares in all of Equestria, and they all love me too. You could never achieve this kind of status with this large number of girls, Techorse."

Techorse shook his head and answered with this, "I only need the love of one mare, Arbiter, and you tried to take her from me. I don't want a dozen mares, no matter how attractive you say they are. I want Twilight Sparkle, the girl I love."

"So romantic." Cooed the unicorn. Arbiter shook his head at his concubine's stupidity and dragged Techorse out of his most private place in the castle. He threw the young colt against the wall outside and screamed at him,

"You're supposed to be broken now, saying how you're just dirt under my hooves and to beg for mercy! Why won't you admit defeat?"

Techorse stood up from the wall and said, "I'm happy with what I've accomplished, I don't need to achieve your level of success to be the better stallion."

Arbiter shouted at him, "I was planning on letting you go if you just admitted you were a violent, stupid alien with no hope of being as great as I was. But now I see I'm going to have to destroy you anyways! Prepare to die."

"Stop!" shouted Twilight. She had slipped away from the guards and galloped up to Arbiter. "Please!" she begged, "just let it go, Arbiter. Can't you see Techorse doesn't want to hurt anypony?"

"Stay out of this!" he demanded, "Techorse is an alien who's tricked you into thinking he's actually some sort of good being at heart!"

"He's not!" she answered sternly. "I don't care what you think, I'm still disposing of him immediately." Said Arbiter.

Twilight took notice at the number of his subjects watching the argument and said, "Well, if you think Techorse is evil, why don't you prove it?"

"What do you mean?" asked Arbiter. Twilight continued, "Doesn't Techorse deserve a trial?"

"Of course." said Arbiter.

"A fair trial." Corrected Twilight, knowing what the stallion was thinking.

"Dang, there's always a catch!" grumbled Arbiter.

Twilight said loudly to the observers, "I'm sure your loyal subjects would enjoy knowing their leader is going to give every pony under his authority a fair trial."

Twilight smiled as she heard the subjects whisper to themselves things along the line of, "She's right." And "Techorse should get a trial!" but most importantly, "if he doesn't get a trial, we won't either!"

Arbiter looked around at the ponies and knew he had been duped into delaying Techorse's execution. "Fine."

He said sharply, "we'll hold the trial in a few hours. It will be of his peers, as usual, but neither you nor his six friends, with the exception of Fluttershy, can be on the jury."

"Why Fluttershy?" asked Techorse.

Arbiter said nervously, "Um, because she would keep the other jury members quiet. They're sure to get all riled up about how bad you really are, human." Arbiter summoned a few of his guards and said, "In the meantime, enjoy lunch with your friends. You can request anything you want Techorse, since I'm sure it's going to be your last meal."


	4. Part 4 Chapters 13 through end

Techorse II: Captain Arbiter's Revenge

By Spirals95

* * *

Chapter 13

The trial was held inside a courtroom in the middle of the castle itself, and many of Arbiter's subjects had attended to witness the events. Arbiter stood in the judge's chair, he knew he couldn't simply order Techorse dead right now or else he'd look bad in front of his ponies. Instead, he was going to have to give overwhelming evidence that the green pony in the defendant's booth was evil. Arbiter had changed back into his eyepatch and black cape, and was ready to deal what he thought was perfect justice.

He tapped on the stand he was in with his hoof and said, "Order, please, my subjects."

The crowd fell silent, ready to start the case. Arbiter stood up and said, "We have before us Techorse..."

"I have no last name." finished the defendant.

"fine." Said Arbiter, "Techorse is guilty of being a violent and destructive alien known as a human at heart. Should the court find him guilty, he is to die this afternoon."

"I can't believe this." Whispered Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy as Arbiter talked, "he's set up a kangaroo court."

"I know, but everything's going to be ok." Replied Fluttershy, "trust me."

Arbiter continued to lecture, "I have evidence that Techorse is the violent alien I say he is. But to be kind, as you subjects know I am, I will allow his attorney Miss Sparkle to speak first in his defense."

Twilight said, "Ladies and gentlecolts of the court, my friend here Techorse is not the evil alien Arbiter says he is, but actually one hundred percent pony at heart. He will not hurt you or cause you any worry."

"Objection." called Arbiter.

"What?" asked Twilight. "Techorse has already caused worry." replied Arbiter, "I call this family over here to the stand to prove my point."

A family of two earth ponies and their young daughter, who was shaking nervously walked over to the stand.

"Tell me what the humans have done to our planet." Said Arbiter to the father.

He said to the court, "The humans attacked our world six months ago, but it's psychological effects are still present. My daughter here is still asking us to check under her bed for humans."

"Oh brother." Commented Applejack as she rolled her eyes.

"From what I've heard." Said the mother, "thousands of other foals around the world are asking the same thing every night, costing them the precious sleep they need to grow. Our foals are suffering because of that alien's actions!"

"Objection!" shouted Applejack.

"Go ahead." Groaned Arbiter. Applejack said to the family,

"It wasn't his actions at all. The humans in general did this to our planet, but ponies of the court, Techorse here betrayed the humans to help us." The crowd mumbled in agreement, they had heard the reports.

"Not only that!" said Pinkie Pie loudly as she jumped out of the rows of seats, "but he also is a really nice guy! He invents all these neat gadgets that do stuff like peel vegetables, not blast ponies!"

"Maybe he's nice to you." said Arbiter, "but what about ponies from this country?"

"What do you mean?" asked Rarity. "I call forward Sentry to the stand." said Arbiter. Sentry walked onto the platform, passing the sad family on the way.

Arbiter asked of him, "Sentry, you're one of my favorite employees, right?" Sentry nodded without saying a word.

"Now, all I did was ask you to manage my prison, something every legal system needs to survive. I didn't tell you to torture ponies, but just to keep them under watch, right?"

Sentry said, "Yes sir."

Arbiter asked him, "Now, that being said, you peacefully handle all situations in the jail, correct?"

"True." said Sentry, about to weep.

Arbiter pointed at Techorse and asked, "Tell me, when this pony entered the jail you were assigned to and demanded the release of his friends, what did he do to you when you refused?"

"He fed me to a dragon!" wailed Sentry, bawling and letting his tears wet the stand. The crowd of ponies took pity on the pony and stared grumbling. Many of the ponies in the courtroom also stared at Spike with rage in their eyes. Spike noticed their piercing gazes and refuted, "Oh come on, I'm not the dragon he's talking about! That guy wouldn't even fit!"

"He's using insane logic!" declared Rainbow Dash, "Sentry was watching over us, and we were locked up unfairly! Techorse was only trying to break us out!"

"Silence!" shouted Arbiter.

"Never!" declared Rainbow, "you're cheating this trial!"

"Shut up you stupid rainbow-colored tomboy!" he replied. Rainbow Dash screamed and darted out of her seat, flying through the air of the courtroom. She landed a blow on Arbiter's head, knocking him out of his chair and sending him down hard on the ground. The crowd gasped at Rainbow's sudden burst of violence.

Arbiter picked himself up and said plainly, "This Rainbow Dash here, she is one of Techorse's closest friends. He even keeps violent company, my subjects." Rainbow realized in horror that she may have doomed Techorse with her actions, and the angry looks of her friends confirmed that. She landed gently on the ground and walked out of the courtroom without saying another word.

"Rainbow Dash, wait." Called Techorse, attempting to get her to come back, but she was already out the door.

"I have four last witnesses to the evils of this pony."

Arbiter continued, "I call forward my sister's four children."

"Interesting, Arbiter has family." Said Rarity, "I wonder what they have to do with Techorse though."

Rarity's mouth fell open when the three ninja ponies and the guard leader of her prison tower entered the courtroom and stood at the stand to replace Sentry.

"These are my three nephews and my niece." said Arbiter, "I gave them summer jobs guarding some precious objects." Rarity grunted at the sexist statement and refused to look at Arbiter.

The Viscount continued, "When Techorse entered the tower to steal them, look what he did to my own family!" The ninja ponies took off their robes and showed the burns they received from the missiles they took earlier, while the mare showed every pony in the court the bruises on her head from Rainbow Dash's beating.

"Can't you see that Techorse destroys everything in his path and beats up any pony who doesn't give him what he wants? If we do not punish him, he shall destroy Equestria's tranquility!" finished Arbiter, certain he had won, "Go and vote now."

"Just a minute!" shouted Twilight.

"Oh what now?" asked Arbiter angrily.

"I call Viscount Arbiter to the stand." declared Twilight.

"ME?" complained Arbiter.

"Ponies of the court, please let me offer one last defense for my friend." begged Twilight. Techorse smiled at the court, hoping they would grant him one last chance at life.

"Very well." declared the leader of the jury.

Arbiter told his relatives, "Go get a drink or something." As he flapped his wings and landed with a heavy thwack on the stand.

"Viscount Arbiter." Said Twilight as she walked up to the stand, "can you answer me one question?"

"Of course." He responded. Twilight smiled and continued, "Do you know why Techorse was invading your jails and towers? Rainbow Dash gave us the answer earlier."

"I don't know." replied Arbiter, looking away from her.

"Might I remind you that you're under oath?" continued Twilight with a bit of teasing in her voice.

Arbiter grunted and replied, "Fine, I do know, but I'm not telling."

"Isn't it true that you kidnapped miss Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity and put them in the towers to lure Techorse there and commit these acts of violence?" Twilight asked politely.

Arbiter said sternly, "I'm not saying anything!"

"Ladies and gentlecolts, it's obvious why Techorse did the violent things he did. He was trying to rescue his friends from your Viscount, who wanted him gone. In fact, he even kidnapped me and threatened to decapitate me if Techorse did not show up today."

The court gasped at this knowledge which made a good deal of logical sense and began to talk over what they had just heard.

"Isn't this true, Viscount?" asked Twilight of Arbiter. Arbiter looked at the ponies in the courtroom and knew he had lost.

He said, "It is true. I ordered you and the others kidnapped and incarcerated in order to make Techorse show up here today. However, I would have returned all of you unharmed if he had simply come directly to the castle. Despite that, Techorse still committed violence against my family members and Sentry without reason. He and his friends Applejack and Pinkie Pie, along with that dragon who's name I forget, went on a crusade to rescue the others before coming here. Yes, I may have set up the pony, but he still took unnecessary action, and I ask the court to consider that in their decision."

The jury left the room to decide, and Arbiter spread his wings and returned to his seat. Twilight said excitedly to Techorse, "I think we did it!"

"Thanks Twilight, you've saved my life again." He replied lovingly as he stared into her purple eyes. The jury soon returned to their seats and the leader gave their verdict.

"Have you come to a decision?" asked Arbiter eagerly.

The leader cleared his throat and said, "We have reached a fair decision. We find Techorse not guilty of being this evil alien you claim him to be. It seems he only took action to save his friends, something any of us would do. We do however, advise that he be forced to make a public apology for harming your relatives, and pay their medical bills."

"Seems fair." said Techorse after taking a sigh of relief, "Arbiter, I really didn't mean to hurt them. I had no idea who they were to you." "The court has found Techorse not guilty." Said Arbiter slowly, "but that doesn't remove any of my power as Viscount, supreme leader of this land. Guards!"

The guards filed in and pushed out the jury and every other pony in the room, leaving Arbiter and the friends surrounded. One of the stallions dragged Rainbow Dash back into the room by her tail, and threw her in with the others.

"But, we won fair and square!" protested Rarity, "you lost!"

Arbiter laughed, "I wasn't planning on losing in the first place, Miss Rarity. I would offer a fair trial to any other pony, but I simply won't allow this one to go free."

"Sir!" declared one of the guards, "your subjects are organizing an angry mob and demand you release Techorse."

Arbiter shouted angrily at him, "Tell them I've challenged him to a duel then! There's no law against that, and if I beat him, I still win."

"Yes sir!" replied the guard. Arbiter then turned to his other troops and shouted, "Take them all to the roof, I'll be there shortly!"

* * *

Chapter 14

The friends were all taken to the large open roof area on the top of the castle. There, they were led out before Arbiter, who stood with rage in his eyes as he looked at his enemies. Arbiter dismissed all but 10 of his soldiers. Half of them remaining were females, including the two who had cried with Twilight the night before.

"I can't touch you now without being overthrown." said Arbiter to Techorse, "but there is one way I can still deal with your alien hide. I have now officially challenged you to a duel, the laws of this land allow for them. We shall fight with swords to the death."

"What if he should decline?" asked Applejack. Arbiter had his guards lead them over to a large rectangular hole cut in the stones of the roof. It was a deep pit leading fifty feet down. At the bottom was a sand floor, where a large purple worm sat writhing in the dirt. As the ponies stared down into the pit, the monster opened its mouth consisting of four flaps lined with sharp teeth.

"If you do not accept my duel Techorse, I shall feed your friends to this purple worm." said Arbiter, "it truly enjoys eating ponies. I know this because it ate that prince Blueblood before he even hit the bottom of the pit." Rarity's face turned into that of horror, no matter how much she thought Blueblood was a jerk, he didn't deserve that fate at all.

Spike nervously asked Arbiter, "What does it think of dragons?"

"Not sure." Replied Arbiter, "Although I was just going to let you go too honestly, boy.

No sense keeping the pet from living freely." Rainbow Dash got a confident look about her, if Arbiter planned to throw her in the pit with the annelid monster, she could just fly out. But somehow the Viscount picked up on her intentions and added, "One more thing, I will be clipping your wings before you are thrown in, just in case." Rainbow folded her wings quickly, shying them away from the evil stallion.

Pinkie Pie looked at the monster and whined, "I don't want to go inside that worm!"

Techorse assured her, "I won't let him feed you to that thing."

"Then duel me, human." demanded Arbiter, spreading his wings in rage.

"I don't want the chance of you getting injured either Arbiter, because no matter how much you hate me, I don't hate you." Said Techorse boldly, "I'm asking for a peaceful way we can settle this."

Arbiter shouted, "There is no way, fight me coward!"

Twilight remembered some of the laws she had studied in the past and said, "He'll fight you tomorrow, no sooner." "What?" asked Arbiter, shattered that he wasn't getting to fight now.

"The laws state that you must wait at least one day after challenging to a duel before it can be accepted." explained Twilight, "you wrote that yourself in the books you gave me."

Arbiter said angrily, "Fine, you'll spend the night here in different rooms. But tomorrow morning Techorse must decide whether to duel me, or to let you all become snacks for that worm down there." Arbiter ordered his guards to take them away and lock them in a large living area until tomorrow, when the duel would occur. They were sealed inside and security was ramped up to prevent their escape.

Rainbow Dash looked around the small room crammed with beds. "So, why couldn't Techorse just duel Arbiter today?"

"I wanted to make sure he got one more chance at a peaceful solution to this." answered Twilight.

"There is none." said Techorse plainly.

"What?" came the others' shocked response. All eyes were now on the male's sad look.

"Arbiter is only interested in either ending me or making me miserable beyond repair. We tried peace, the legal system, offers and bargains, and he will have none of it. It's obvious to me that Arbiter is begging for this duel tomorrow."

"Doesn't mean you have to lose." said Spike, putting his hand on Techorse's nose, "if you win, we can all just go home."

"Every pony in this land will be watching the fight tomorrow." Said Techorse, "what will they think of me if I strike down Arbiter?"

"They'll think you really are a monster!" figured Pinkie Pie.

"Right." He said, "Arbiter has me now. If I win tomorrow, the citizens of Mineland will demonize me for it. If I lose, Arbiter gets me."

Twilight said desperately, "There's got to be a way where you can make it!" Techorse looked at her and said, "I'm sorry Twilight, but there isn't. This is my last day."

"Don't say that." comforted Fluttershy, "I'm sure you'll find a way out of all of this." They looked up as they heard Rarity crying in the corner of the room. Spike walked up to her and gently stroked her curly mane.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "are you upset for Techorse?"

"No." she groaned, "I feel like such a jerk. At first I found it so hilarious that prince Blueblood had been overthrown, but once I found out what had become of him, it wasn't funny anymore."

Rainbow Dash argued, "He was mean to you at the gala last year."

"That doesn't mean he had to be eaten by that worm!" replied Rarity, shedding more tears.

"And we're next!" panicked Pinkie Pie, her legs shaking in fear.

"What's the use." said Twilight sadly, "One of us is going to be gone tomorrow."

Applejack reminded them, "Look, in all of this mayhem we got to remember that we're all connected as friends. Nothing is going to tear us apart, not Arbiter, not the worm, or anythin' evil on this planet. Think of all the things we've been through together, Wizard's war, battles with monsters, and the threat of nighttime forever. We can't give up hope now."

"She's absolutely right." said Techorse, "I'll find a way tomorrow to stop this once and for all. This could still have a happy ending, but as of now, we're going to have to earn it together."

"That's the spirit." said Rainbow Dash, "so tomorrow you'll beat that Arbiter and we leave this country for good!"

"Maybe, but don't count on that ending, Rainbow." said Techorse. The door to the detainment room was flung open as three very powerful looking guards entered the room.

"You're coming with us!" they demanded as they grabbed Fluttershy and started to drag her away. She screamed, and Rainbow tried to save her by grabbing on to her tail, but the guards overpowered them and escorted her quickly out of the room, slamming the door behind them. It had all happened so quickly that the friends were left in shock.

"Oh no." said Twilight, "what are they going to do to Fluttershy?"

"They're going to torture her!" screeched Rarity, "oh the poor thing." Applejack frowned and took off her hat as she imagined her friend being stretched on a rack and beaten by the muscular guards.

"This is all my fault." said Techorse, pounding a robotic fist onto the ground, "if I had just let him do me in, Fluttershy wouldn't be in this mess."

"I think we've had enough of this crap." shouted Rainbow. She jumped in front of Techorse and screamed at him, "Stop being a pansy and destroy Arbiter tomorrow! Get rid of him so we can go home!"

"Fine."

"Really?" asked Rainbow, surprised her rage had reached him.

"Yes. I'm going to kill him tomorrow, Rainbow Dash. But you have to watch when I do it."

"Never mind." She said while wincing.

"So what do we do now?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"We go to bed." answered Twilight, "Techorse needs his rest for tomorrow." They retired to the cots to try to get some sleep for the inevitable bloodbath the next day. Meanwhile, the three guards carried Fluttershy across the castle and to a large double door made of white-painted wood. They opened the door and placed Fluttershy gently down on a carpeted area. She looked up and saw a beautiful queen sized bed with a velvet comforter. It was built upon a cherry wood frame with posts carved in an artistic curling shape. To the right of the bed was a nightstand with a glass reading lamp on it. A gold-framed mirror and small closet completed the cozy room.

One of the guards told Fluttershy, "Lord Arbiter wishes for you to stay here tonight. Through that door is a bath where you can clean yourself up. There's also a nightgown he wants you to have in that closet. Have a good night."

They left Fluttershy looking at the room in confusion. As they left the room, she gently lifted into the air with her wings and drifted over to the soft bed, where she laid down upon it. She stretched out her body over the velvet comforter and felt the smooth material against her body.

"_This isn't fair._" She thought, "_My friends are still in that jail cell, and I'm here for some reason. But why?_" Fluttershy heard the lock on the door click and knew it was too late to protest, so she resigned herself to bathe and retire for the night immediately afterwords.

* * *

Chapter 15

The team was torn from their beds at 8 in the morning and marched back up to the roof of the castle again. This time as they were led out, their expressions became gloomy as they noticed the guillotine and gallows set up on the large open area. They waited in silence for five minutes before Arbiter approached them, wearing his dark cape again.

The stallion addressed them, "Good morning. It's decision time." He picked up a sword with his teeth and threw it down on the ground in front of Techorse. The blade was about two and half inches in width, two feet long, and had a plain T-bar hilt with a simple red padded grip.

"This is the sword you shall duel me with. You may use that dreadful saddle of yours to pick up this blade Techorse. In order to make the fight fair, I've employed my own invention."

Arbiter called for two unicorns, and they walked up to him, each carrying a metal gauntlet with an amethyst crystal on the palm of each one. The unicorns placed the two metal gloves at Arbiter's sides, and then touched the crystal with their horns, making them glow. They placed the metal hands under Arbiter's control, and the lord of Mineland lifted his new extremities into the air.

Techorse looked at the floating metal hands and said, "That's impressive, half magic and half technology."

Arbiter nodded and pointed with the metal hand at the hilt tied around his waist, "I shall use them to wield this sword. It beats holding it with my teeth like I used to." Arbiter spread his wings and opened the palms of both hands, extending them out to give him a very dictator-like aura.

"This is the day I finally defeat the alien who threatens the peace of our planet." He proclaimed, "But he must first accept my challenge to duel."

"Please." Begged Twilight desperately, "isn't there any way we can settle this peacefully? Maybe you and Techorse don't have to duel."

Arbiter almost said no instinctively, but thought of something important to him and said, "Well, there actually is a way for us to settle this peacefully. If it is accepted, even you get to go free, Techorse!"

"What is it?" asked Twilight eagerly, hoping the captain had a change of heart. Arbiter folded his wings to his sides and walked slowly up to Fluttershy. He looked into her blue eyes and said, "I will let you all go with no trouble, if Fluttershy agrees to marry me. Her beauty absolutely astonishes me. That stunning light yellow coat of yours and that flowing pink hair and tail make you beautiful. I love to stare into those blue eyes of yours. Your cutie mark, those three pink butterflies are something I'd like to look at every night of my life. But it's your shy and kind personality that would make you a good wife Fluttershy. It's so innocent that I can't resist it."

Fluttershy blushed and backed up one step, she knew now why Arbiter had treated her so special during her captivity, "Oh, my."

Rarity looked like she was about to throw up, she couldn't believe what Arbiter wanted to do to her friend.

"I can't believe he just said that." said Applejack in utter shock. "Please, marry me and accept my love, and all your friends go free." promised Arbiter.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and lowered her head, "I'll do it."

"No Fluttershy!" shouted Applejack, "ya can't!" Fluttershy ignored her and asked Arbiter, "keep your promise about not burning the coal, and bring my animals here to your castle, and I'll be your mistress."

"Fluttershy, please don't submit yourself to him like this!" begged Rarity.

"Girls, there's no sense in you all getting hurt." Said Fluttershy softly, "I can learn to love Arbiter to make sure you go free." Techorse felt rage building up in his heart. He knew Arbiter had the audacity to kidnap his friends and threaten the life of his love interest. But this attempt to make Fluttershy his trophy wife had brought him to a boiling point.

"She will not do any such thing, and that's final!" shouted Rarity, firmly planting her hoof into the ground.

"Yeah, what she said!" agreed Spike, hoping to win brownie points.

"Very well." Said Arbiter, frowning and picking up the gauntlets again, "then Techorse must duel me or let you all be eaten by the purple worm."

"What if he says nothin'?" asked Applejack confidently, knowing that legally they could just filibuster the whole ordeal.

Arbiter replied with a smirk, "I'll pick you off one at a time to speed up his decision. Starting with you and his marefriend." The guards grabbed Applejack and subdued her, then positioned her on the platform where the gallows stood. They took out a rope and placed a noose over Applejack's neck, then tied the other end to the top of the wooden frame. Finally, to make sure nothing funny was attempted by the country girl, they tied up her legs and positioned her over the trapdoor. Because the structure was built over the ledge of the castle, there was nothing to stop all of Mineland from observing the hanging. Applejack swallowed hard as an earth pony wearing a black ski mask removed her hat and approached a lever.

"Oh my gosh, they're gonna hang Applejack!" shrieked Rainbow Dash in horror.

"Please, I'll be your wife!" begged Fluttershy, "there's no need for this." Arbiter scoffed, "I'll take you anyways after I deal with them. I don't care if you don't love me back, you'll be my girl and like it."

Twilight was strapped to the guillotine, and although Spike did his best to try and stop them, he was eventually beat off by the guards.

Arbiter pointed to the sword on the ground before Techorse and said darkly, "I'm going to back up and count to ten, Techorse. Pick up the sword and duel me or both of them die." Techorse looked down at the blade and saw his reflection in it. He knew someone's blood was going on the cold steel, it was just a matter of who.

He heard Twilight cry out, "Just pick it up! You don't have to fight him, but pick it up!" Applejack felt the noose tighten around her neck as the executioner made sure it would snap her neck the minute she fell through the trapdoor. She watched as the other killer pulled a rope to raise the blade.

Applejack said to Techorse, "I'm sorry Techorse. Please, just help us." Pinkie Pie looked around at the terror. Something in her mind knew that her best friends were about to lose their lives because of the desires of the large white pony in front of her. Pinkie Pie's hair fell into a straight and limp style as her psyche shattered. She marched right up to Arbiter and spat in his face.

"You big fat, arrogant, mean, rude, nasty, controlling, evil, scheming bully!" she shouted at him, "Let us go and give up your downright cruel scheme, or so help me I will _tear you apart_, Arbiter!" Arbiter pulled back a metal fist and punched Pinkie Pie hard in the head, sending her flying backwards through the air. Techorse's mouth fell open as the pink girl flew into the open pit on the castle.

Rainbow Dash shouted, "Pinkie, no!" as they heard the purple worm scream in delight and consume her with a terrible slurping noise.

"What was that about tearing me apart misses Pie?" asked Arbiter teasingly as he turned his head and raised a gauntlet to his ear, "I couldn't hear you over the sound of you dying!"

"_ARBITER_!" screamed Techorse as he extended his robot arms and rushed forward. He grabbed the sword and charged at Arbiter, yelling in rage. Arbiter quickly reached for his sword and held it in front of him with his metal gauntlets. Steel hit steel as Techorse's blade crossed Arbiter's, each hit sending a shower of sparks over the side of the castle. They clashed blades and moved backwards, away from the others and deep into the cloisters of the rooftop. The ponies of Mineland watched in awe as their leader fought the green coated colt, blocking each blow with skill and attempting to return with his own. Arbiter concentrated with his one eye, using the spell of the gauntlets to attack Techorse while avoiding his swings. As they retreated into the cloister, Arbiter swung horizontally and struck a blow across his enemy's side. Techorse yelled in pain as a small flesh wound opened up on his right, the gash stung like crazy. But still he fought on, for Pinkie Pie's loss he must settle the score, life for life was his goal. He brought the blade down, nearly bisecting the Viscount, but Arbiter flew backwards, using his wings to evade the powerful strike. The sword hit the ground and kicked up a chunk of stone. Techorse brought the robotic arms closer to his body and shouted at Arbiter with nothing but rage in his heart, "I tried peace, Arbiter. I wanted to give you a chance, but you blew it. Now you're going to fall."

"It is you who will fall, alien." Replied Arbiter as he galloped forward, swinging the gauntlets to bring his longsword around. Techorse held his blade vertically and blocked the move before returning with a sharp kick from his front leg. This sent Arbiter tumbling down the cloister, where he came to a stop near a gothic-styled window. He got up and took one gauntlet off the sword, raising it so Techorse could see it. Arbiter smirked and made the symbol for "bring it on" with the device.

Another war cry and the green pony charged again, readying the blade to run through the evil Viscount. But Arbiter jumped in the air and hovered with his wings, and as Techorse went under him, he brought the blade down to try and stab him in the head. Luckily, Techorse sped up and dodged the downwards stab, and Arbiter had to turn around to face him. This time, Arbiter pushed Techorse back further into the cloister, rather than the other way around, and they continued to cross blades and hack away at each other in an epic form of combat by today's standards. As they continued to fight, one of the mares watching over the surviving friends looked around and said, "He's gone, let them go now." The executioners took off their ski masks and untied Applejack before removing Twilight from the guillotine.

"Wait, so you're letting us go?" asked Twilight in confusion.

"Yeah." Replied the executioner, "we're just so scared of what Arbiter might do to us that we had to follow his orders." One of the colts guarding the team walked up to Applejack and removed the noose from her neck.

"You're far too pretty to hang." He said.

"Aw, you're so sweet." She replied half heartedly, trying hard to resist smacking him. Spike ran up to the now liberated Twilight and hugged her.

"I thought you were history!" he said.

"So did I." she replied honestly. "Ok, now that we're free, we should help Techorse!" declared Rainbow Dash.

"Quite right, but where are they?" asked Rarity. Techorse and Arbiter emerged from the cloister about two hundred feet in front of the friends. Arbiter swung his sword at an angle, attempting to decapitate Techorse with one blow, but he was simply too fast for the swing. The large attack threw him off balance, and Techorse took advantage of this by bringing his sword down on Arbiter. The steel blade cut through the left gauntlet, and the magical object exploded in flash of light and energy as it was destroyed. Arbiter gripped his weapon tightly with the other hand and continued to dodge Techorse's other blows. After a few moments of crossing blades, Arbiter saw a gap. He thrusted his sword forward right through Techorse's sternum. The young colt fell down upon the stone floor of the castle roof and gasped weakly as the blade pierced his lung. Twilight watched this in terror and galloped to assist. The other tried to follow, but Fluttershy held out a leg.

"No." she said with anger in her eyes, "let Twilight handle this."

"Finally!" cheered Arbiter as he looked at the dying Techorse, "I defeat you honorably!"

The light purple unicorn reached her love interest and threw herself down next to him. She turned him over and looked him in the eyes. He was losing consciousness fast.

"How did you escape?" asked Arbiter angrily.

"Hold still!" she said, ignoring Arbiter. Twilight's horn glowed as she touched Techorse's wound. The deep wound began to heal, and Techorse felt the strength of his lungs returned as Twilight's spell patched up the injury in a glow of purple light. Normally healing spells were too weak to heal anything but a scratch, but Twilight's love for Techorse powered her will to cure the deep cut.

Arbiter screamed, "Stop that!" But Twilight finished healing the love of her life and kissed him gently on the head. She got up from the ground and turned to face Arbiter. Twilight continued to let her horn glow and picked up Techorse's sword from the stone ground. She said to the overlord with rage, "You threaten my life and the lives of my friends, you stab my coltfriend, and you tell me to 'stop that?' You're going down, Arbiter." The sword's blade was wrapped in a purple glow, and Twilight swung the blade at him. Arbiter blocked the weapon and was pushed back towards the walls of the cloister, but made sure he did not actually go back inside again. Twilight swung furiously and accurately, pushing the Viscount backwards until finally he was pinned against the wall. With one last shout of anger, Twilight telekinetically hacked the blade downwards and sliced through the right gauntlet, breaking it and causing Arbiter's sword to fall to the ground. Twilight picked up that blade also and crossed the two. She moved the blades around Arbiter's neck, threatening to use them like a giant pair of scissors. Techorse stood up and let the robotic hands slide back into the mechanical saddle he enjoyed using so dearly. He casually walked over to the outside of the cloister and stood in front of Twilight Sparkle and Arbiter.

Twilight prepared to push the blades and sever Arbiter's head, ending the life of the evil lord. "Tech, just say when." She said while turning her head to look at her friend. Techorse looked at Arbiter, and the Viscount looked over with his one good eye. He saw fear in his face, the once powerful and mighty lord had been brought down to the status of a whimpering child.

Arbiter would not beg for his life, but simply said with a dry throat, "You and your mare have beaten me in this duel Techorse. Just tell her to do it quickly."

Techorse walked up to Twilight and kissed her on the cheek before saying, "Put the swords down."

"But what about Pinkie Pie?"

"Just drop them, please. I love you." Twilight powered down the swords and dropped the blades as she stepped back from Arbiter.

"Why?" he asked, "after all the things I did, why couldn't you let her finish me?" Techorse extended a robotic hand to help the lord up.

"I'm proving I'm a good pony." He replied, "All of your citizens who just watched this duel would agree that because I've spared you, I'm not such a beast anymore." Techorse pointed out the number of citizens of Mineland who had gathered at the base of the castle to watch the fight. Arbiter simply watched as the citizens began to chant, "Set them free!"

Arbiter silenced them and said to his followers, "I will release them."

"Let's go back home." said Twilight, gathering up her friends to leave. Techorse turned his back on Arbiter and walked over to the edge of the worm pit.

He looked down at the monster and said sadly, "Oh, Pinkie Pie." He let tears fall into the pit and onto the annelid, which screeched at him. "I'm so sorry." bawled Techorse, "I should have acted sooner." Arbiter saw Techorse perched in an undefendable position over the worm pit. He had one last shot at accomplishing his objectives. Arbiter picked up his sword with his teeth and aimed it at Techorse's rear end before charging.

Rainbow Dash noticed the charge and shouted, "Techorse, watch out!" He span around and saw Arbiter about to strike. Acting quickly, Techorse took out his turbofans and lifted vertically into the air, letting Arbiter pass underneath him. Arbiter attempted to stop, but momentum was too great, and over he went down into the deep pit. The others refused to watch as the stallion was swallowed whole by his own pet.

Techorse landed next to his friends and said to them, "After all that, he still felt a need to get me. It's finally come back to bite him."

"I guess we should just go home then." Said Applejack sadly, removing her hat once again.

"There's no way we're going to get over Pinkie Pie though." sniffed Rarity, "she was the happiest of all of us, and she deserves the best memorial service ever." They all cried over the loss of their friend to the worm.

A thud was heard by the team between their sobs as princess Celestia's chariot landed on the roof of the castle. It was being pulled by twenty of her guards, with Jools and Jops at the front.

"Thank goodness I finally found you." said the princess, glad to see that her team was mostly intact. She frowned as she saw her students crying and staring into the dismal hole in the castle roof.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Techorse finally took notice of Celestia and stopped sobbing immediately.

"Princess!" he asked, "What are you doing here?" "An enchanted paper plane entered Canterlot one day." She replied, "Twilight sent them out as a cry for help. When I heard about Arbiter's plans for her, I brought some troops with me." Techorse saluted Jools and Jops, who nodded in acknowledgment. Twilight approached Celestia and bowed before her.

She stood up afterwords and said, "Thank you for coming, but we've already stopped Arbiter."

"Then why are you all so sad?" asked Celestia.

"It's terrible." sobbed Twilight, "Pinkie Pie was killed by the purple worm in this pit."

"What?"

"It's true." explained Fluttershy, "she was swallowed by it when she tried to stop Arbiter. At least he met his end in the worm as well!" The princess smiled and walked over to the edge, then looked down at the twelve foot long creature.

"It's ok." Comforted the princess, "Twilight, did you ever study purple worms?"

"No." she replied, trying to dry her tears. Celestia tilted her head upwards and addressed her team, "purple worms don't eat meat. They eat giant mushrooms that grow underground. Anything else is inedible to them."

"Then why did it eat them?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, the worm is blind and can't smell either, so it simply takes in anything it can find." Explained Celestia, "however, anything that isn't a giant mushroom doesn't quite sit well on the worm's stomach. The irritated worm will coat the object with a special hardening amber to soothe the problem."

"A soothing coat?" asked Rarity, not quite making a connection.

"Like how oysters make pearls, Rarity." whispered Techorse. The worm began to cough and sputter, as if hacking up a hairball. Three chunks of amber-colored plastic shot out of its mouth and landed on the roof. In each one was a single victim that the worm had consumed. Prince Blueblood was trapped inside the first brick of amber, with a look of horror on his face that made Rarity laugh again. Pinkie Pie had a very eager expression, and her hair had returned to normal, as if she was just waiting to be released from the cube. But the most interesting figure of all was Arbiter. He had a sad look to him, as if he was disappointed in his own failure and that his home world was doomed.

Twilight looked at the amber cubes and said, "They're just in stasis. All we have to do is remove the amber and they'll come out of the coma."

"I bet if we heat up the amber, it will melt away." suggested Spike, ready to breathe fire.

Celestia said, "We'll free Pinkie Pie, but let's put Arbiter in storage back at my castle. He needs to do a little time for what he's done."

"If you want, we could just put on the elements and trap him in stone!" said Rainbow Dash, trying to tempt Celestia. "No, I'm certain that would make things worse a millennium from now." sighed Celestia as she stared at the Viscount's statue.

"Also, sorry to disappoint you, Rarity, but I know Blueblood's parents, and they would be miserable if I didn't free their son."

"Oh, it's alright." said Rarity as she nudged the statue with a hind leg, "I think being eaten by that worm was revenge enough."

"I suppose that's it then." said Applejack cheerfully, "We'll free them and head back to Ponyville."

"Not yet." said Twilight. She said to the princess, "Princess Celestia, I need to ask you a favor."

"What is it?" she replied, acknowledging her request. Twilight led the princess and had her look down at the ponies of Mineland.

"These ponies never got their towns on the maps of Equestria." Twilight explained, "They felt unloved by you and Luna, thinking they were forgotten. That's why they turned to Arbiter. Please, let them send representatives to Canterlot and be accepted as citizens of your kingdom." Celestia watched the ponies as they stared up in awe at her flowing hair and stunning appearance.

She called down to them sweetly, "Citizens of Mineland, from this day forward you shall have your place on the maps of Equestria. I apologize for my unkind forgetfulness in adding your small country to the records, but the day I was to add your country to our maps, my sister attempted to overthrow the planet. Can you forgive me for my mistake?" The citizens cheered a happy response; they were finally going to be accepted by the princesses. Twilight turned and faced Techorse. He looked up and smiled at her, then took off his saddle and approached her slowly. "Thanks for saving me again." He said. "I was just about to say the same thing." She replied before they began to kiss.

A week later, every last deadly device built by Arbiter had been burned. Prince Blueblood was freed from his amber and returned to his castle, although he soon found it to his advantage to keep many of Arbiter's old advisers. The mining probes were switched from purely retrieving coal to looking for precious metals, gems, and construction materials. Mineland's economy continued to grow, but the environmental harm had ceased. Back in Ponyville, the team of seven were once again considered heroes for stopping the terror Arbiter had inflicted with his ninjas. But even they were welcome in town from time to time, as it was soon proved that they would much rather practice their martial arts in defense of others rather than take them away. After apologizing for their actions, they started a small karate dojo in Ponyville, and the Three Brothers Karate became a popular after school program for the town's foals. As for the seven friends, they returned to their normal lives after gathering for a party the revived Pinkie Pie threw for everyone in celebration of their success. For Equestria, another tyrant had been defeated, and the planet was once again safe.

For now...

The End


End file.
